The Wilson 150 anniversary celebration has launched a new exhibition examining Wilson’s rich and complex legacy. Now on view at Wilson House until November 12, 2006, is the exhibit Wilson 150: The Exhibition. This exhibition juxtaposes Wilson’s political achievements with his less familiar private life.

Often perceived as a humorless schoolmaster, Wilson was in fact a passionate man who doted on his wife and three daughters. Wilson 150 chronicles both his public life in office as well as his private life at home through political memorabilia and personal effects, such as his signature top hat, pince nez, and powerful photographic images. The exhibition examines Wilson as a determined president, educator, world statesman and peacemaker and provides rare insight into his everyday pleasures, revealing a deeper understanding of his personal humanity.

“Wilson’s is a compelling, complex story,” says Frank Aucella, Executive Director of Woodrow Wilson House. “Visitors to this exhibition will come away with a fuller appreciation for the command of the man who served two terms as President of the United States, and a kinder understanding for the humanity of the man who was a peacemaker during the turbulence of the First World War.”

Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, was born on December 28, 1856, in Staunton, Virginia shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War and raised in a family of Presbyterian ministers. A well-educated Edwardian gentleman, Wilson ironically was a poor student early in life. He did not learn the alphabet until he was nine years old and did not learn to read until he was twelve. Historians now believe that he was afflicted by a form of dyslexia. In 1873, Wilson left home to attend Davidson College in North Carolina. He transferred to the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, where he graduated in 1879. Wilson attended the University of Virginia to study law and became a practicing lawyer in Atlanta. Finding no appeal in the law, Wilson went on to earn a Ph.D. in the History of Government from Johns Hopkins University in 1885. Wilson's teaching career began at Bryn Mawr College in 1885 followed by a position at Wesleyan University in 1888. In 1890, Princeton University hired him as a professor of jurisprudence and politics. He became President of Princeton in 1902, a position he held until 1910. He then served two years as a reform governor of New Jersey before securing the 1912 Democratic presidential nomination.

Wilson was elected to the Presidency in a three-way race with Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. In his first month in office, Wilson went before a joint session of Congress to have the legislative branch act on "The New Freedom," his reform package. His entire package, including tariff reduction, banking oversight, and the first income tax under the 16th Amendment, passed in Congress by the end of his first year in office. He expanded the Executive Branch by creating the Federal Reserve, the Federal Trade Commission and the Internal Revenue Service. During Wilson's eight years as president, Congress passed two constitutional amendments: prohibition (18th); and women's suffrage (19th). Two other amendments were ratified while Wilson was President: income tax (16th) was ratified in February 1913; and direct election of Senators (17th) was ratified on April 8, 1913. While in office, Wilson also opened the Panama Canal, started air mail service, endorsed the creation of an interstate highway system, appeared in one of the first filmed campaign advertisements, used a microphone for the amplification of his voice, and witnessed the birth of radio.

Woodrow Wilson enriched the world as an educator, author of more than a dozen books and world statesman. A world leader who sought peace, Wilson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize as the Founder of the League of Nations, which became the foundation for the United Nations. He was a man who used the power of his office to bring about positive domestic reform and led the nation through the First World War with determined leadership.

Wilson 150: The Exhibition was organized by the Woodrow Wilson House, National Trust Historic Site, Washington, DC, and is made possible by the leadership support of The History Channel, by funding from the Interpretation and Education Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional funding for the electronic media is provided by The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency. Special thanks to Security Moving and Storage our national touring sponsor.

Following its presentation at Wilson House, the exhibition will move to Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in conjunction with the Wilson 150 Symposium in October 2006, then travel to The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, Staunton, Virginia (December 2006 – April 2007); Morven Museum & Garden, Princeton, New Jersey (April – November 2007); The Boyhood Home of President Woodrow Wilson, Augusta, Georgia (December 2007 – April 2008); and the Woodrow Wilson Boyhood Home, Columbia, South Carolina (June – November 2008).

Click Here to see the full schedule of Wilson 150 Events for 2006!

Click here to listen to WAMU’s Metro Connection's coverage of the exhibition.