I knew of Wilson’s stroke and that First Lady Edith Wilson basically served as the de facto chief executive for the remainder of his presidency.
Wasn’t aware that he had contracted influenza during the 1918 Pandemic. Been reading that lingering effects of the illness may have affected Wilson’s effectiveness in advocating for his Fourteen Points at the Paris Peace Conference.
Yeah, a lot of interesting speculation about the consequences of the flu on Wilson, some suggesting that it affected his personality, etc. Maybe, I just don’t know, but I imagine he was also exhausted one he returned from Paris, possibly due to the illness.
But, and this has always intrigued me, can you imagine a President, even today, being literally out of the country (on and off) for almost six months today, even with all of our modern communication? I’m sure some people pray for it now, on both sides of the political divide, but a century ago it was quite the extraordinary circumstance. In fact, I think he was the first to ever travel outside the US while President…
Y’all probably know this, but maybe some don’t, Wilson was a student at davidson for a short time.
My dad always said Wilson got kicked out of Davidson for stealing but never heard that from anyone else. Hmm…
I think the historical marker at the college mentions it too…of course after Princeton decided to remove his name from its programs, wonder how long the marker will still be there and when Davidson will decide to purge him?
When all the racists up there are out of power. May be a while.
Teddy Roosevelt left the USA to inspect ongoing work on the Panama Canal.
Forgot about Teddy…
The sign in front of Davidson College that refers to Wilson is controlled by the State. There’s another State Highway sign down the street in front of the College’s cemetery that informs us Confederate General D.H. Hill, a Davidson faculty member in the 1850s, is buried there. The Town of Davidson has asked for that sign to be removed.
Wilson attended Davidson for one year. He was sickly and went home to recuperate. He stayed with his parents for a year and transferred to Princeton. He had little contact or connection with Davidson afterward.
Davidson would probably not object if Wilson were replaced by a Davidson alumnus who graduated from the college on the sign. Dean Rusk, Tony Snow, and Patsy Daniels would be possibilities. (Daniels is better known by married name, Patricia Cornwell.)
[quote=“frequentvisitor, post:210, topic:34743, full:true”]
The sign in front of Davidson College that refers to Wilson is controlled by the State.[/quote]
I know, and I know a couple of folks on the commission who help determine state historical markers, but my point was that given the current climate, it won’t surprise me if there aren’t calls for it’s removal or rewording…sad really.
White supremacy. Sad really.
Thanks! York’s story is a remarkable one!
Was reading about the voter intimidation vandalism at the WWI museum in Kansas City and didn’t realize there was a National World War I Museum and Memorial and that it was located outside of the Washington, DC area.
And speaking of a memorial in DC, looks like recent efforts to erect one on the National Mall were fairly contentious and instead the already existing Pershing Park was eventually chosen as the site.
I have been there a couple of times. It is worth the visit. It is very well done. Even just walking the outside grounds is worth the trip if you are in KC.
I’d love to visit it but have yet to make it. Same goes for the WWII museum in Nola.
I’ve been to Pershing Park in DC where the new WWI memorial is going. It’s in a pretty out of the way location near the White House. Hopefully the new monument will draw some interest.
The museum in KC is really nice, and the view from the tower is great. I saw the article about the vandalism there and it pissed me off. The pagoda in Washington for WW1 is in sad shape, at least the last time I saw it, but I didn’t know there are plans for something new for Pershing Park. About friggin time.
I think it will be really nice when it is completed. The Centennial Commission is in charge of the project. You can see some renderings on their site:
Wow, that looks good and about dang time too! I had no idea it was going to be that large. The pagoda in DC (just next the the Mall) was built with resident subscriptions, if I remember correctly, but it makes no sense to me why something wasn’t done before in the nation’s capital.