Object Image

Twenty-eighth president, 1913–1921

Elected president after earning a sterling reputation as the governor of New Jersey, Woodrow Wilson remained committed to curbing abusive business practices and improving conditions for workers. In the wake of World War I, he tried to create a world order that would choose to prioritize peace over national self-interest, but his idealism was dismissed, both at home and abroad. The frustration Wilson felt from this rejection was compounded by his failure to convince his own country to support the League of Nations, an international organization he had conceived of as a means for avoiding future wars.

He suffered a stroke in 1919 while campaigning for American...

c. 1919
Oil on canvas
77.0 x 63.8 x 3.3 cm
NPG.65.84
Image and text © National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2024

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