Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs

A Foundation for Sustainable Rural Community Development

Woodrow Wilson

• CLC home page
• Introduction
• Report

Summary

• Purpose
• Commissioners
• Survey & Hearings
• Prominent Deficiencies
• Underlying Problem
• Migration
• Agriculture Challenges
• Public Health
• Role of Farm Women
• Conservation & Land Use
• General Corrective Forces
• Commission Recommendations
• Legislative Recommendations
• Remedies
• The Call for Leadership

Legacy

• American Country Life Association
• Rural Sociology
• American Farm Bureau Federation
• Highways
• Agricultural Economics

Resources

• Bibliography
• Web Resources
• Timeline

Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856-February 3, 1924) was elected twenty-eighth President in 1912, defeating the incumbent Republican, William Howard Taft, as well as former Republican President and Progressive (Bull Moose) Party leader Theodore Roosevelt, and Socialist Eugene V. Debs. Wilson was born in Staunton, VA, the son of a Presbyterian minister. His academic career began at Princeton University. He graduated from the University of Virginia Law School and then earned his doctorate degree from Johns Hopkins University in history and political science.

Following an academic career as an author, professor, and president of Princeton University (1902), Wilson rose through the political ranks to become New Jersey’s governor. He was identified as a progressive and reformer of the Democratic Party, which led to his nomination for President in 1912. As president, Wilson advocated a low tariff, child labor laws, and an eight-hour work day. During his tenure in the White House, two bills that assisted farmers were passed. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 created extension programs for land-grant colleges, and the Smith-Hughes Act (Vocational Act of 1917) created funding for farming families to obtain training in agriculture and consumer science.