Comparing and Contrasting the Careers, Views and Accomplishments of William Jennings Bryan and Woodrow Wilson
Two very influential men, Thomas Woodrow Wilson, born 1856, and William Jennings Bryan, born 1860 came onto the scene at one of the most critical points in American history. Thomas Woodrow Wilson was what you would call a late bloomer, yet in his later years that late "bloom" turned out to be a remarkable blossom. In other words, the impact he had on human society was colossal. William Jennings Bryan was a brilliant orator. His amazing speeches won him widespread recognition. While these two men worked along side each other in the realm of politics, sometimes in harmony and sometimes not, their lives would forever transform
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After these two terms in Congress, Bryan became editor of the Omaha World-Herald and traveled the Chautauqua lecture circuit promoting populist ideas. In 1896, he gave a brilliant speech on behalf of the free silver' men at the National Convention in Chicago. "He championed the idea that the dollar should be backed by more plentiful silver rather than gold, as was the present U. S. policy
Tumultuous applause erupted on the convention floor and continued for thirty minutes"! (Linder). This astounding speech won him the democratic nomination, the first of three failed attempts. The second and third tries were spent at campaigning progressive issues such as anti-imperialism, consumer protection, regulation of trusts, and finance reform. "Although his dream of the presidency was never realized, Bryan succeeded in transforming the Democratic Party from a conservative party of Civil War losers to a coalition more focused on the interests of blue-collar workers, farmers, and religious and ethnic minorities" (Linder).
When Wilson ran for president in 1912, Bryan "preformed his last great service to the Democratic Party by helping secure Wilson's nomination" (Johnson, p. 635. Even though Wilson had been in politics only three years, and had never sat in Congress, his "lecture room skills served him well for platform oratory
his fine voice and admirable, often spontaneous, choice of words could hold audiences of up
In the first two decades of the twentieth century the national political scene reflected a growing American belief in the ideas of the Progressive movement. This movement was concerned with fundamental social and economic reforms and gained in popularity under two presidents. Yet Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson espoused two different approaches to progressive reform. And each one was able to prevail upon congress to pass legislation in keeping with his own version of the progressive dream. These two people, although they had different principles in mind, had one goal: to make changes to the nation for the better of the people and the country. Setting out to reach this goal, Roosevelt came to be a president of the common man while
As a PhD and former president of Princeton University, Wilson had a bit softer of approach to the presidency. Wilson, like Roosevelt, was a progressive reformer, instituting federal institutes, such as the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission, but Wilson had quite the opposite ideas of war and conquest. Wilson was slow to enter The Great War, and only did so to preserve American life when Germany began targeting passenger ships carrying American citizens. When America entered the war and helped a achieve a quick, decisive victory for the Allies, he was hailed overseas as the “hero from the West.” His creation of The League of Nations, which was shot down by the Senate during his infirm years following a stroke, likely could have helped prevent further unrest in European nations that led to World War
The American Presidency is one of the most criticized political institutions in the world. The American President is held to standards higher than any person can reasonably be expected to uphold and even the slightest mistake on their part can be remembered forever as a historic failure. Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States and is often considered to be one of the “top ten” greatest presidents, yet even he is not immune to historical criticism. While he may have been a very successful president he had his fair share of failures. Two of his chief failures as president were his rather disastrous policies dealing with racial issues and his pushing through of the 1917 espionage act.
Wilson's number one desire was to be loved by the people. He could not win as much respect as Roosevelt won, but did find some affection in politics. He had many limitations, but one of the most severe was his respect for tradition. Wilson, instead of trying to make the government better and newer, he wanted to imitate the government of Great Britain, with cabinet being more like parliament. One of his main criticisms was that the current government had no room for debate, or great minds like Calhoun, Webster, and Clay. Wilson was much more sincere then Roosevelt, and actually provided a display of the reforms he wanted to achieve. Prior to his career in politics, Wilson served as the president of Princeton University. He therefore had much sympathy to the way education was run throughout the country, and wanted reforms to occur. He felt students were not allowed to express their opinion freely enough, and called for a more democratic undergraduate life. Similarly to Roosevelt, Wilson was hostile to labor unions, suspicious of large trusts, and unaware of how to handle trusts. The "Triple Wall of Privileges" was Wilson's economic policy which required getting rid of the three obstacles he felt society was currently facing- the trusts, banks, and tariffs. And before Wilson left the White House, he made sure he handled every single part of the "Triple Wall of Privileges."
Wilson abandoned the imperialist policy and brought to the White House a new way of looking at America’s relations with the outside world. Wilson believed that the United States was the most politically enlightened in a sense under god, he felt that people throughout the world had their right to choose their own governments. Wilson was only protecting people rights to democracy.
The 1920 presidential was a significant piece of history for many reasons. The roaring 1920 election had many rising issues in concurrence. There were many controversial topics such as a recent prohibition of alcohol, the fear of communism, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. In these very difficult times, America encounters one of the most revealing elections in United States. This election comes post-WWI and one of the most liberal ideological presidents in the United States history, President Woodrow Wilson.
"He looks like a president!" stated Harry Daugherty, an Ohio admirer, a few months before the 1920 Republican convention in Chicago. He made this remark while nominating Harding For the Republican presidental candidate. Not many took Harding seriously due to his modest back ground. But because he couldn't be controlled Harding became the choice for presidential nomination.
Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt were two of America’s great presidents. This is why I feel that both men were equally important in what they did and said they would do. Both in their own ways have added a little of what makes this country what it is today. Both had their own beliefs of how reform, empowerment of the people and foreign policy should be accomplished. As president, the main goal was to do what they felt best for the American people. In doing so, how different could they really be?
Two great men, two great presidents, led our nations to excellency and great success. Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were hard working, intelligent men who were very familiar, but were also different in many aspects. Through their dedication to our country and their passion of politics they have made our country better.
William Jennings Bryan was born in Illinois in 1960, inheriting his parents commitment to the Democratic party. William graduated from Illinois College and Union Law school, and seeing no future in politics in Illinois moved to Nebraska in 1987. When the Populist party interrupted Nebraska politics, William Jennings Bryan was vote into Congress and was reelected in 1892. In 1894, William led Nebraska’s Democrats to support the state Populist party. William thrilled the Democratic Convention of 1896 with his Cross of Gold speech about free silver and seized the presidential nomination. William traveled over eighteen thousand miles, speaking to thousands of voters but lost to William McKinley whose victory started a generation of Republican dominance.
During the Progressive Era from 1890-1920, America saw three new presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. This period of time is known as the Progressive Era due to the political and social changes made to move away from a laissez-faire government to a more active government by the administrations of these presidents. Prior to this period, Americans had to suffer through poor working conditions, low wages, social and class inequality and become victims to large corporations that took advantage of the people. In particular, the administrations of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson established the key principles and ideas of economic reform and social reform, which would end up returning the power from the manipulative corporations back to the government, establishing a model for a more active role for the federal government, and improve the lives of Americans. However, even though Roosevelt and Wilson had similar intentions of reforming America, they both had different means of achieving it.
The president that has revolutionized the title “president” is Woodrow Wilson. This report will inform you about Woodrow Wilson’s biographical information, early education to his college years, and his significant contributions in office. Every important aspect of his life will be explained in the following paragraphs.
Woodrow Wilson was the first Southerner to be elected president after the Civil War. Born on December 28, 1856 in Staunton, Va., he was the son of a Presbyterian minister who supported the Confederates. Wilson assumed the presidency after a whirlwind career as a college professor, university president and New Jersey governor. However, Wilson left the Oval Office just as heartbroken as the Confederate soldiers that returned home when he was a boy.
Woodrow Wilson’s presidency was by many accounts one of the most successful in American history. Not only did his domestic affairs and reform policies give birth to the modern age of liberalism but his foreign policies would lead the United States to victory in World War I. This would in turn contribute to the United States involvement in world affairs.
To better understand the successes and failures of the 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, it is essential to define the image he portrayed to the American population during his presidency. Many Americans and historians will claim he was a man of impartiality and the one who led America into WWI. He had a very solid influence on Congress for the many domestic and foreign affair policies he endorsed. The goal is to illustrate how President Woodrow Wilson ran his presidency in the eyes of the American citizens. This will be done by examining the many facades that President Woodrow Wilson exhibited during his term as president. Upon researching the events of President Woodrow Wilson, it is clear that he was significant in moving our nation onward and supporting the American people in every which way possible.