In this post, I touch on the election (or reelection) of U.S. presidents who guided the country through two bloody, destructive global wars. November 5, 1912: Woodrow Wilson beats two ex presidents in a landslide victory Democrat Woodrow Wilson is elected the 28th president of the United States, with Thomas R. Marshall as vice president. In a landslide Democratic victory, Wilson secured 435 electoral votes against the eight won by Republican incumbent William Howard Taft and the 88 snagged by Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt. It remains the only election in American history where two former presidents were defeated by another candidate. During his two terms in office, Wilson oversaw U.S. entry into World War I; proposed the Fourteen Points, a statement of principles that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end the global war; and championed the League of Nations, an international organization formed to prevent future armed conflict. Because of opposi...

On this day in 1917, in a pivotal move toward U.S. entry into World War I, President Woodrow Wilson is apprised of the so-called Zimmermann Telegram, a message from German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann to the German ambassador to Mexico proposing a Mexican-German alliance in case of a war between the U.S. and Germany. British authorities handed Walter Hines Page, the U.S. ambassador to Britain, a copy of the Zimmermann Telegram, a coded message from Zimmermann to Count Johann von Bernstorff, the German ambassador to Mexico. In the telegram, intercepted and deciphered by British intelligence in late January, Zimmermann instructed his ambassador, in the event of a German war with the United States, to offer significant financial aid to Mexico if it agreed to enter the conflict on the Germans' side. Germany also pledged to restore to Mexico the lost territories of Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico. The State Department quickly sent a copy of the Zimmermann Telegram to Preside...

On this day in 1785, the Georgia General Assembly incorporated the first state-funded institution of higher education in the newly independent United States. The prior year, the assembly had set aside 40,000 acres from which they aimed to earn the money to endow the institution. In 1786, Yale University alumnus Abraham Baldwin was chosen as president, and the school's charter was hammered out. In 1801, John Milledge, future governor of Georgia, donated over 600 acres along the Oconee River (in present-day Athens) to serve as the site of the new university. Three years later, the school graduated the first class. The new institution's first name was Franklin College, in homage to Benjamin Franklin, and modeled its architecture and pedagogy after that of Yale University. Now known as The University of Georgia, its shift from religious tolerance to gender equity and racial integration was a gradual one. It wouldn't admit women until 1918, the same year President Wo...

I know people who are too busy to visit their parents -- that is, except for Mother's Day and Father's Day. Then there are those who have lost one or both parents and become especially sorrowful on these days. One thing I always tell both camps is that Mother's Day and Father's Day are not once a year -- they're every day. I remind the first group that we should think about and reach out to our parents every day. If that's not feasible, it should be at least once a week. I know life gets in the way. We're busy with work, our kids, and so much else. But the fact of the matter is that our parents won't be here forever. We must strive to spend as much time with them as we possibly can while they're still alive. As for the second group, while it's normal to become more melancholy on these days -- who wouldn't with copious Facebook posts and commercials centering on these occasions? -- they should keep one thing in mind. Like all other...

On this day in 1904, President Woodrow Wilson departed Washington, D.C, on the first European trip ever taken by a U.S. president. After several days at sea aboard the S.S. George Washington, Wilson arrived at Brest, France. He then traveled by land to Versailles, where he led the American delegation to the peace conference seeking an official end to World War I. Despite Republican opposite to the trip, Wilson worked indefatigably to hash out an agreement that would lead to a lasting peace in Europe. During the stay, Wilson also pushed for the establishment of the League of Nations, an international organization designed to promote world peace by avoiding wars and settling international disputes. At Versailles, Wilson’s hopes for a “just and stable peace” were opposed by the other victorious Allies, and the final treaty, which called for stringent war reparations from the former Central Powers, was met with intense disapproval in Germany. Regardless, President Woodrow Wilson was aw...

Teddy Roosevelt’s legacy encompasses a wide range of outstanding achievements – from overseeing the construction of the Panama Canal to helping root out public corruption to dissolving monopolies as a so-called “trust buster.” However, there’s a lot more to this majestic figure than what's detailed in the history books. Below are several fascinating facts about the 26th U.S. President that run the gamut from special awards he received to his personal pet peeves.  Teddy Roosevelt (1858-1919) was a man of varied interests and notable accomplishments. His name alone conjures up images of a stout, bespectacled man with a brown mustache and larger-than-life personality. Indeed, this revered figure who famously exhorted Americans to “speak softly and carry a big stick” is remembered as an ebullient politician who pledged to crack down on trusts and corruption, an outdoorsy explorer deeply committed to the conservation of natural resources, and an intrepid Colonel who commanded the 1st ...

Many people seem to be questioning whether Donald Trump is the real deal. Does he genuinely wish to be the next President of the United States, or is this all a publicity stunt? For one, he has changed party affiliations various times throughout the years. Today he comes off as an ardent Republican, but not too long ago he was rubbing elbows with Bill Clinton and making sizable donations to his campaign. The blustery real estate mogul has called himself a Republican twice, and both a Democrat and independent once. One thing is for sure: When Donald Trump talks, people listen. Like President Obama, the man oozes charisma. What distinguishes him from his fellow candidates, though, is that he speaks his mind with no restraint whatsoever. Indeed, when it comes to the Donald, there's no holding of the tongue: if you don't like what he has to say, he couldn't care less. There's no denying that Donald Trump is shaking up the establishment. Many of his comments and views ...