The

presidency of Woodrow Wilson Woodrow Wilson's tenure as the 28th president of the United States lasted from 4 March 1913 until 4 March 1921. He was largely incapacitated the last year and a half. He became president after winning the 1912 election. Wilson was a Democr ...

began on March 4, 1913, when

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

was

inaugurated In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

as the 28th

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

, and ended on March 4, 1921.

1913

* March 4 – First inauguration of Woodrow Wilson * March 5 -

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...

is sworn in as the 41st

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

, Josephus Daniels is sworn in as the 41st

United States Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

, and William C. Redfield is sworn in as the 1st

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

. * April 8 - Wilson addresses a joint session of Congress regarding adjusting tariff duties. It is the first time a President addressed Congress personally since John Adams in 1800. * May 31 - The Seventeenth Amendment is ratified * October 3 - Wilson signs the Underwood Tariff and the Revenue Act of 1913 * December 23 - Wilson signs the

Federal Reserve Act The Federal Reserve Act was passed by the 63rd United States Congress and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on December 23, 1913. The law created the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. The Pani ...

1914

* July 28 -

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

declares war on the Kingdom of Serbia, beginning

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

* October 15 - Wilson signs the

Clayton Antitrust Act The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 (, codified at , ), is a part of United States antitrust law with the goal of adding further substance to the U.S. antitrust law regime; the Clayton Act seeks to prevent anticompetitive practices in their incipie ...

* November 3 - The 1914 elections take place

1915

* May 7 - A German submarine sinks the RMS Lusitania

1916

* January 1 - President Wilson and First Lady

Edith Wilson Edith Wilson ( Bolling, formerly Galt; October 15, 1872 – December 28, 1961) was the first lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 and the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She married the widower Wilson in December 1915, during hi ...

hold their first public reception since the couple wed at the Homestend Hotel in

Hot Springs, Virginia Hot Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bath County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 738. It is located about southwest of Warm Springs on U.S. Route 220. Hot Springs has several historic resorts, f ...

. * January 2 -

Associate Justice of the United States An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is any member of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1 ...

Joseph Rucker Lamar Joseph Rucker Lamar (October 14, 1857 – January 2, 1916) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court appointed by President William Howard Taft. A cousin of former associate justice Lucius Lamar, he served from 1911 until hi ...

dies from gradual liver failure in Washington, D.C. during the evening. * January 12 - Secretary of State Lansing reports that President Wilson warning Americans to leave Mexico continues as the administration's viewpoint on the country. * January 13 - President Wilson announces his intent to continue his "watchful waiting" policy in regards to Mexico and that the eighteen Americans recently executed there "were specifically warned not to go to Mexico." * January 16 - A memorandum is made public in which Secretary of State Lansing requests the American Institute of International Law to compose a study on neutral duties and rights during times of war. * January 18 - President Wilson's wishes to appoint Dixon C. Williams to solve the Chicago postmaster problem become public. * January 27 - President Wilson gives a speech to the Seventh Annual Dinner of the Railway Business Association during a New York appearance, speaking about America and its army. * January 29 - President Wilson delivers an address in Cleveland, Ohio on the bravery of the US and how it affects foreign policy. * January 31 - President Wilson delivers a military address in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

. * February 1 - President Wilson delivers a speech in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

on guarding the honor of the US when it is questioned. * February 2 - President Wilson gives an address to 10,000 people in Kansas City, Missouri, calling for Americans to support his attempts to protect lives and internationally preserve commerce. * February 3 -

Robert Lansing Robert Lansing (; October 17, 1864 – October 30, 1928) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as Counselor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I, and then as United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wi ...

delivers dispatches on foreign affairs to President Wilson. * February 4 - The Senate votes 52 to 21 in favor of the Philippine Independence bill during the night hours. * November 1 - President Wilson delivers a speech in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

on his intention for the US to battle for its representations. * November 2 - President Wilson spends the day campaigning in New York, delivering a speech in the afternoon and three in the night. * November 7 – Wilson defeats Republican

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes Sr. (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American statesman, politician and jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the ...

in the 1916 presidential election. * November 9 - Secretary of State Lansing admits the grave state of the financial situation in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

as well as its military, the first instance of someone from the Wilson administration confirming a poor status in Mexico since the beginning of the Mexico-America conference. * November 10 - Wilson delivers his first public speech since the election in

Wilmington, Massachusetts Wilmington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population was 23,349 at the 2020 United States census. History Wilmington was first settled in 1665 and was officially incorporated in 1730, from parts of Woburn, Readi ...

. * December 2 - Two men are arrested on charges of trying to murder President Wilson. President Wilson delivers a speech at the banquet celebrating the illumination of the Statue of Liberty in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. * December 30 - President Wilson meets with Senator Francis G. Newlands for discussions on the passage of anti-strike legislation in Washington.

1917

* March 3 - Arthur Zimmermann admits the authenticity of the Zimmermann Telegram * March 4 -

Second inauguration of Woodrow Wilson The second inauguration of Woodrow Wilson as president of the United States was held privately on Sunday, March 4, 1917, at the President's Room inside the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. and publicly on Monday, March 5, 1917, at the ...

* April 6 - Wilson signs the

1917 United States declaration of war on Germany On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked a special joint session of the United States Congress for a declaration of war against the German Empire. Congress responded with the declaration on April 6. President Wilson's speech to Congres ...

, beginning the U.S. involvement in

1918

* November 5 - The 1918 elections take place * November 11 - Germany signs the

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

, ending World War I

1919

* January 16 - The Eighteenth Amendment is ratified * January 19 - The Paris Peace Conference begins to meet * June 2 - Anarchists detonate eight bombs in eight U.S. cities, marking the height of the

1919 United States anarchist bombings The 1919 United States anarchist bombings were a series of bombings and attempted bombings carried out by followers of the Italian anarchist Luigi Galleani from April through June 1919. These bombings were one of the major factors contributin ...

* June 28 - Signing of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

* October 2 - Wilson suffers a debilitating stroke which largely incapacitates him for the rest of his presidency

1920

* January - the economic

Depression of 1920–21 Depression may refer to: Mental health * Depression (mood), a state of low mood and aversion to activity * Mood disorders characterized by depression are commonly referred to as simply ''depression'', including: ** Dysthymia, also known as pers ...

, in some ways worse than the Great Depression. * January 17 - The Eighteenth Amendment comes into force, beginning the era of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

* August 18 - The Nineteenth Amendment is ratified * November 2 -

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

wins the 1920 presidential election

1921

* March 4 – Warren G. Harding is

as the 29th president of the United States, at noon EST.

References

External links

Miller Center Wilson Presidential Timeline
{{US Presidential Administrations 1913 in the United States 1914 in the United States 1915 in the United States 1916 in the United States 1917 in the United States 1918 in the United States 1919 in the United States 1920 in American politics 1921 in the United States

Wilson, Woodrow Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...