Who would be your choice as the greatest person of the 20th

Our 28th president was elected in 1912 and reelected in 1916. When WWI broke out in Europe, Wilson tried to maintain neutrality for the US. He was a man of peace and offered mediation to both sides early on. Wilson felt forced to turn to war after four American ships were sunk by German submarines. He asked congress to declare war in April, 1917.

Wilson focused on diplomacy and left the day-to-day waging of war to the military leaders. He took personal control of the negotiations with Germany late in the war. Germany signed an armistice on November 11th, 1918 following the abdication of the Kaiser. copyright ybarra-cgm

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Wilson (with amazing foresight as a diplomat and statesman) worked to design a postwar world that would avoid another such horrific conflict. He went to Paris in 1919 to create the League of Nations. Wilson then traveled across Europe to gain support and encourage each country's participation in the League of Nations. Wherever he went, Wilson was treated like a hero. The citizenry of Western Europe demonstrated their thanks to Wilson for ending the war with parades (reports say cheering people would wait six and eight people deep on the streets with tears streaming down), endless banquets and speeches, awards, statue dedications, and so on. copyright ybarra-cgm

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When you travel to major European capitals today nearly every one has a Wilson Boulevard, Wilson Square, Wilson Park, etc. accompanied by his statue. For all of his efforts with the birth of the League of Nations, Wilson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. copyright ybarra-cgm

When Wilson returned home the political winds had shifted. Unbelievably, congress voted to not join the League of Nations. A dark day for our nation, indeed; and this was proven as history unfolded.

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Wilson suffered a cerebral hemorrhage when traveling across the US - attempting to rally support for the League of Nations. He spent the remaining 17 months of his last term and the following three years of life as an invalid.

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The situation has always been interesting for me to think about. This man was a god-like hero abroad both for ending the war and for his attempts to create an international community with a focus on maintaining peace. Yet in his own country he was met with a brick wall. There are probably triple or quadruple (I'm guessing) the memorials honoring Wilson in Europe as in the US.

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"A prophet is not without honor save in his own land," indeed. ybarra-cgm.com

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So here's to you Woodrow: your idealistic internationalism made you a proponent of democracy, progressiveness, humanity, peace, and liberalism - and I love you for that.

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