Life in the Trenches
Life in the Trenches
There was nothing that could have prepared the American Expeditionary Force for the battlefields of Europe when they entered the Great War in 1917. Both the Allies and the Central powers were deeply entrenched, fighting from bunkers dug into the earth. The opposing trenches formed parallel lines that ran from Belgium in the north to the border of Switzerland in the south. This defensive strategy, combined with new weapons such as the machine gun and poison gas, brought about heavy casualties for both sides.

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Wilson was president throughout World
War I. He attempted to keep America out of the war and even won reelection with
the slogan "He kept us out of war." Nonetheless, after the sinking of the Lusitania,
continued run-ins with German submarines, and the release of the Zimmerman Telegram,
America became involved. with the Lusitania, the continued harassment of American
ships by German submarines, and the release of the Zimmerman Telegram meant that
America joined the allies in April, 1917.
Woodrow Wilson was President when
the 19th amendment was ratified in 1920 giving women the right to vote.
Wilson piloted the ship that brought
America onto the world stage. He made the first steps of leading us out of isolationism,
violating Washington's tenet of avoiding foreign entanglements.
He led America during World War I.
His fervent hope was for the US to join a League of Nations, the precursor to the
United Nations.
A Woodrow Wilson Quote: "Life does
not consist in thinking, it consists in acting."
A Woodrow Wilson Quote: "The Constitution
was not made to fit us like a straitjacket. In its elasticity lies its chief greatness."
A Woodrow Wilson Quote: "I believe in democracy because it releases the energies
of every human being."
The Seventeenth Amendment was formally
adopted on May 31, 1913. Wilson had been president for almost three months at the
time. The amendment provided for the direct election of senators. Prior to its adoption,
Senators were chosen by state legislatures.
Wilson was the first president to
receive a PhD which he got in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University. He
had received his undergraduate degree from the College of New Jersey, renamed Princeton
University in 1896.
Woodrow Wilson could not read during
the first decade of his life. Though undiagnosed, he may have suffered from a learning
disability
Woodrow Wilson was known as "Tommy"
until his college years.
Woodrow Wilson during his boyhood,
helped establish the "Lightfoot Baseball Club" with his friends. Wilson played second
base and was an avid sport fan throughout his adult life.
Woodrow Wilson was the first president to attend the Major League Baseball Fall
Classic. He saw the debut of a young 20 year old pitcher by the name of George Herman
"Babe" Ruth.
Woodrow Wilson was a graduate of Princeton
University and Johns Hopkins University and the only president to hold an earned
doctoral degree.
Woodrow Wilson image is on the $100,000
bill although it is no longer in circulation
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