When the Cheering Stopped

I've been deeply interested in Wilson ever since reading this book at age 16. Nearly forty years later, it remains one of my favorites. Smith crafts a compelling portrait of one of our most intelligent Presidents, high-minded and idealistic, dedicated to peace, admirable yet ultimately tragic. I recommend the book to anyone who enjoys historical biography.

WHEN THE CHEERING STOPPED The last years of Woodrow Wilson Reviewed by Carolyn B. Leonard This oldie-but-goodie laments the collapse of the League of Nations and then-president Woodrow Wilson. The message is especially timely during this presidential election year. Wilson defeated two former US presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, to win his first election in 1912 as the twenty-eighth president of the United States. Wilson used tariff, currency and anti-trust laws to prime the pump and get the economy working in 1913. He spent 1914 through 1916 trying to keep America out of the war in Europe. However by mid 1917 in his second term, this president saw war as unavoidable. He announced the country was entering the "war to end all wars." During 1818 and 1819 he worked tirelessly to promote his peace plan and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. However, the Senate never ratified and the nation never joined the League. After the war ended, in the hot September of 1919 the president, his second wife, his doctor and his secretary stumped the nation by rail to stir up support for the League of Nations. President Wilson, then past sixty and in his second term, was exhausted by World War I and his struggle to get the United States into his treaty of peace. Yet, he firmly believed that without the US in the League, there would soon be another even more critical World War. By seven votes, the treaty failed in the Senate. The President, against the warnings of his doctor, made a national tour to gain public support - 8,000 miles in 22 days. From Washington to California his train paused at every whistle stop for an appearance and then back east again as his voice grew steadily more hoarse. No microphones or loudspeakers were available and it was important to Wilson for the people to hear what he had to say. Suddenly in Wichita, Kansas, his trip was cancelled -- just before his scheduled appearance in Oklahoma City 26 September 1919. Only his intimates knew why. The stroke was so debilitating that for seventeen months the President never saw ANYONE except his doctor, and no one was allowed to see him, especially not a photographer, reporter, anyone from the public or even his cabinet members and friends. No details, no explanations. His wife, Edith Galt, (with only a second grade education) took charge of all correspondence and actions/reactions to his cabinet. She would send their requests back each day with a note (in her 2nd grade scribble) saying, "the president says ...." To this day, no one knows if the president ever saw any of the requests or if Mrs. Wilson made all the decisions. (Perhaps she was actually the first woman president?) The Wilsons detested Vice President Thomas R. Marshall and never briefed him on the situation, so he took no part in the government actions and was never advised he was only a heartbeat away from the top office. The doctor never expected the president to survive. The American public was never al

This is a history of Woodrow Wilson's last years, especially after the stroke he suffered in Pueblo, Colorado, left him an invalid. How much did Mrs. Wilson run the country? Smith believes quite a bit, though that belief has been disputed by others. Smith also contends that Wilson's failure to secure a yes vote from Congress to join the League of Nations is what finally did him in; most would agree with her on this. Wilson fought a bitter battle that became nasty and personal trying to get the US to join the League - and it was soon consuming just about all his time and efforts. Smith is an admirable writer, and she relates this story smoothly and with confidence.

I picked this book up for $1, and would recommend it at thirty times that amount to anyone who loves history or biography. I was vaguely aware of Wilson's life and work, but after reading this book I feel as if I knew the man personally. Well-done, mostly fair, very human -- I cried more than once.

this is a facinating period of history and the story of a man who was very disillusioned at the end of his life. Due to the stroke wilson did not understand what was actually happening to him. it is hard not to weep for him and not to feel admiration for his widow. a very personal piece of world history that was not explained in my college studies. i knew about his stroke and the bitterness he felt, but this book helped me to experience how it felt.