#PrezDress Style Tip: Canes

For President’s Day, the President Woodrow Wilson House invites visitors of all ages to dress as their favorite President or First Lady. For fun, we want to inspire our “Presidential Visitors” and share some #PrezDress style ideas.

How about the old walking stick? Many American Presidents carried a cane as a fashion accessory including George Washington, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, William McKinley, Warren G. Harding, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman and of course Woodrow Wilson.

Woodrow Wilson at Princeton in 1902

However, Wilson was known for carrying a cane even before his presidency. As a newly elected president of Princeton, a photograph shows him sporting an elegant cane. During his lifetime, walking sticks were considered a must-have fashion accessory among the fashionable elite. The Washington Post in January 1914 referred to the cane as "the rock-ribbed badge of fashion and social distinction, the mark alike of the gentleman of leisure and dilettante of the mode." In order to keep up with the rapidly changing fashion trends, a man of fashion would buy a new cane every month:

1920s Cane Fashion Trends

Winter- Darker wood and heavier weight

Summer- Lighter color and weight

Time of Day- Different style of cane for the morning, afternoon, and evening

               

President Woodrow Wilson's cane collection continued to grow after he moved into the White House in 1913.  During his presidency, he acquired over 50 canes. Many of them were received as gifts from the American people. One gift, presented to Wilson in 1914, told his life story. Made out of light wood and topped with a silver band, the cane was inscribed with Wilson’s biography beginning with his Princeton University graduation in 1879 to his years as Governor of New Jersey from 1910-1912. 

Wilson biography cane was presented to him in 1914.

The full inscription reads: 

Woodrow Wilson / Democratic President of the United States / Educationalist / Author / Statesman / Princeton: Graduated 1879; Professor of Jurisprudence, Political Economy, Politics, 1890, 1897; President, 1902, 1910 / Bryn Mawr: Professor of Political Economy, 1885, 1888 / Wesleyan: Professor of Political Economy, 1888, 1890 / University of Virginia: Law Student, 1879, 1880 / Lawyer, 1882, 1883 / Democratic Governor of New Jersey, 1910, 1912. Made of a piece of wood from the property of the First Democratic Governor of Louisiana, carved and presented to the President by his first grandson whose name he bears. Alex Moulton, Lafayette Louisiana, 1914.

Today, you can see Wilson’s collection of canes throughout his S Street Residence. In addition to his growing collection, his stroke in 1919 caused Wilson to use the cane for more utilitarian purposes. Over time, the cane turned from a fashionable accessory to a needed companion for him-- which he called "my third leg."

President Wilson leaves his home on S. Street to attend Armistice Day celebrations supported by his valet Isaac Scott and his trusty cane. 

Ladies we are not forgetting about you!

For a brief time, women carried canes in public especially during the age of the flapper. Nell Wilson McAdoo, President Wilson’s daughter, made the headlines by carrying a cane in public. Although both women and men were carrying canes,  The Washington Post mentioned the style differences between them in October 1913. They described women’s walking sticks to be ornate with “gold and jeweled beads” in order to “harmonize with the walking costume she happens to be wearing while carrying the stick.” Eventually the fad phased out, but it was still considered a part of fashion.

An unidentified woman demonstrates an ingenious Prohibition-era accessory, the cane-flask, Washington, DC, 1922 (Photo Courtesy of Shorpy.com)

Come by President Woodrow Wilson's House to show off your #PrezDress on Presidents' Day!

Mrs. Wilson's Travels

           After President Woodrow Wilson’s death in 1924 his wife, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, remained dedicated to her husband’s work and memory. She personally worked with President Wilson’s biographer and with those responsible for writing the 1944 film, Wilson.[1] Mrs. Wilson was also responsible for preserving her husband’s birthplace in Staunton, Virginia as a museum, and it was Mrs. Wilson who donated their S Street home in Washington, D.C. and its contents to the National Trust for Historic Preservation after her death.[2] However, the former First Lady was not satisfied in protecting her husband’s legacy in the United States, and she often traveled abroad in order to continue her work around the world.

            Mrs. Wilson became familiar with international travel during her husband’s time in office. After World War I, Mrs. Wilson accompanied her husband to Europe while he negotiated the Treaty of Versailles, making her the first current First Lady to travel to Europe.[3] After President Wilson’s death, Mrs. Wilson felt that, in addition to guarding her husband’s historical reputation, it was her duty to travel the world in order to continue the work that he started with the League of Nations.

President and Mrs. Wilson in Paris, Photo from Library of Congress

           In 1929, Mrs. Wilson set off on a world tour, during which she visited China, England, France, and Japan. Her cousin, Rudolph Bolling Teusler, was the head of the St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo at the time, and he came to the United States in order to be with Mrs. Wilson as she traveled from New York to Paris. Teusler’s wife, children, and one of his coworkers from St. Luke’s eventually joined the party in France.[4] Mrs. Wilson made more trips in the 1930’s to new places, such as Egypt, Poland, Germany, and Mexico. Every year, Mrs. Wilson traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, the head quarters of the League of Nations, in order to “observe the workings of the organization her husband has labored so hard to establish.”[5]

            However, while Mrs. Wilson certainly worked to support the League of Nations after her husband’s death, other Americans continued to reject the idea. Many people in congress were afraid that the United States would become a de facto member if they worked too closely with the League of Nations, and Washington therefore avoided working with Geneva whenever possible. Furthermore, the League’s association with the very flawed Treaty of Versailles soon caused the international community to lose faith and confidence in the League of Nations.[6]

President Roosevelt signing the Declaration of War with Japan, Photo from Library of Congress

             However, the idea of an international organization did not disappear. On December 8, 1941, with Mrs. Wilson in the audience, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on the Japanese Empire, bringing the United States into World War II. The war ended a little less than four years later and the American public, by then veterans of two global conflicts, supported the idea of a new organization, which would become the United Nations.


-Sophia Vayansky, Fall 2014 Intern

---

[1] “First Lady Biography: Edith Wilson,” National First Ladies’ Library.

[2] Caroli, Betty Boyd, “Edith Wilson,” Encyclopedia Britannica.

[3] “First Lady Biography: Edith Wilson,” National First Ladies’ Library.

[4] Streich, Mary, “Edith Wilson & the Orient: 1928, 1932.”

[5] Streich, Mary, “Edith Wilson & the Orient: 1928, 1932.”

[6] “League of Nations, 1920,” United States Department of State, Office of the Historian.

Spotlight on our Collections: Woodrow Wilson's Bed

Wilson's bedroom on the 3rd floor at the Woodrow Wilson House

           

         When deciding how to furnish Wilson’s bedroom at their new S Street residence, Edith Wilson tried to replicate her husband’s bedroom in the White House as much as possible. Small pieces of furniture, like footrests, pillows, and reading lights, were all kept relatively in the same positions as they had occupied in the White House. Tables were also put in the same places, conveniently located to hold Wilson’s papers and books. Above his bed, Edith included a banner presented to Wilson by an Italian artist in New York. The banner, made of silk and measuring 6 feet in length, features an eagle with an American flag waving in the background.  One of the most significant pieces of furniture in Wilson’s bedroom is his extraordinarily large bed.

 

Edith presented the bed as a gift to her husband, as she had commissioned the new bed be made the exact dimensions as the Lincoln Bed at the White House. The original Lincoln Bed was first purchased by First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln in 1861, but President Lincoln probably never used it. Several presidents have used the Lincoln Bed at the White House after him, but few have beds similar in size outside the White House. Measuring 8 feet 6 inches x 6 feet 6 inches, the bed is longer than a king size bed today! Wilson’s bed is made of mahogany wood, with four posters standing at each corner. It was built in Grand Rapids, Michigan and delivered a day before the Wilsons moved in on March 4, 1921. The duplicate bed, however, is not designed in the same style as the Lincoln bed. Instead, it is made in a colonial revival style; the Lincoln bed was made during the mid-19^th century. 

Wilson's bed with its original mattress

Wilson became accustomed to the bed during his stay in the White House. After his stroke in October, he was mostly confined to his bed.  As his illness progressed, the large dimensions of the bed made it comfortable for the ailing president.  It was also in this bed that Wilson passed away on February 3, 1924 at the age of 67. People lined the streets outside the house on S Street to pay their respects. He was buried at the Washington National Cathedral a few days later. 

-Catherine Yuan

President Wilson's 1914 Mother's Day Proclamation

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION- MAY 9, 1914

WHEREAS, By a Joint Resolution approved May 8, 1914, “designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day, and for other purposes”, the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the government officials to display the United States flag on all government buildings, and the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country;

AND WHEREAS, By the said Joint Resolution it is made the duty of the President to request the observance of the second Sunday in May as provided for in the said Joint Resolution;

Now, Therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the said Joint Resolution, do hereby direct the government officials to display the United States flag on all government buildings and do invite the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.

In witness whereof I have set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed.

Done at the City of Washington this ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States one hundred and thirty-eight.

Celebrating Presidents' Day

The President Woodrow Wilson House celebrated Presidents’ Day by opening the house museum on Monday for guided tours where visitors had the chance to visit with President Wilson himself.  Well, you may ask, what or who is Presidents’ Day meant to honor?  The day was originally celebrated as George Washington’s birthday on February 22^nd, and moved to the third Monday of every February in 1971. 

President Wilson on Presidents' Day 2014

Some places still celebrate President’s Day in honoring only George Washington.  Some places also honor Abraham Lincoln in Presidents’ Day (his birthday is on February 12).  (Note the various changes in punctuation of President’s/ Presidents/ Presidents’ Day.)  But even though this day was technically not created in celebration of all of the Presidents, many Americans take this opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of the great Presidents that have influenced our country. 

On the tour at the President Woodrow Wilson House, Wilson spoke to visitors on the President’s role in America.  He quoted from his book The President of the United States, which he wrote in 1916, “greatly as the practice and influence of Presidents has varied, there can be no mistaking the fact that we have grown more and more inclined from generation to generation to look to the President as the unifying force in our complex system, the leader both of his party and of the union”. 

Many great Presidents have come after Washington and Lincoln that we look to as the “unifying force” of their time, and their successes are worth noting.  The President Woodrow Wilson House showcases the life of Mr. Wilson and all of the things he did as President for the United States of America. 

The video below, from YouTube user TheUsPresidents, highlights Woodrow Wilson’s life and the accomplishments of his career.  There really is a lot to celebrate about our 28^th President!

Writing Books With Culture, 1900-1920

When thinking about the most popular books of present day, what comes to mind?  The Harry Potter series, the Hunger Games series, the Fault in Our Stars, and the Book Thief certainly are books everyone has heard of and quite possibly read.  Most know who Nicholas Sparks, Stephanie Meyer, and Dan Brown are, and have read their books, or at least know someone who has.  Books seep into our culture, and culture, in some ways, writes the books.  

Credit: Library of Congress
Jessie (standing) and Eleanor  Wilson

What book might Eleanor and Jessie Wilson (two of Woodrow’s daughters) be reading in this photograph taken around 1912?

Interestingly enough, during Wilson’s presidency, many well-known authors we still read today were writing some of their classic stories.  F. Scott Fitzgerald was creating his Great Gatsby, A.A. Milne was dreaming up Winnie the Pooh, Arthur Conan Doyle was investigating his ideas for Sherlock Holmes, L. Frank Baum was imaging a Wizard in Oz, and Agatha Christie was penning her riveting mysteries.

In 1917, one very popular book was Mr. Britling Sees It Through by H.G. Wells, which was featured on best sellers lists of the year. 

Credit: gutenberg.net.au

“This story is essentially the history of the opening and of the realisation of the Great War as it happened to one small group of people in Essex, and more particularly, as it happened to one human brain” (216).

The book was released in 1916 in England, one year before the United States joined the war that Wells writes about.   The impact of the Great War found its way into the plots of many books of that time, and it is no surprise that the book gained a lot of attention from the United States after the country entered into the war.  Culture was written into the book, and in return the book became a way for the culture to understand the war and the changes made on society. 

-Bethany Hagen

From President Wilson's Daybook: May 29, 1923

On this date in 1923, Woodrow and Edith Wilson screened the comedy Safety Last! in their library, using the 1922 Graphoscope film projector gifted to them from Douglas Fairbanks. Several local theater owners would send Wilson the film reels since they knew the former President was an avid fan of the movies; Washington’s Metropolitan Theater sent Safety Last! to the Wilsons after it had finished playing on May 26.

The star of Safety Last! was Harold Lloyd. Lloyd, alongside Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, was one of the most popular film comedians of the 1920s. He was best known for his "Glasses" character, an eager young go-getter whose very eagerness often resulted in many comic mishaps. Safety Last!  tells the story of a salesclerk at the De Vore Department Store, played by Harold Lloyd, and his attempts to win $1000 as well as to impress his girlfriend, Mildred. In a very funny sequence, he ends up dangling off of the face of a clock high above the city streets; it became one of the most famous images from the silent film era.

Here is the trailer for Safety Last!, just newly restored by Janus Films earlier this year. Please share with us what you think in the comments below (and definitely consider watching Safety Last!)!

Hear, hear!

One of the items on display here at the Woodrow Wilson House is the microphone used by President Wilson to deliver his November 11, 1923 radio address to the American people--the first nationwide remote radio broadcast. Since a radio address is something that we listen to, we have to wonder, what did President Wilson sound like? Was his voice deep? High pitched? Did he have an accent?

Now, thanks to the National Jukebox Project from the Library of Congress, we have the opportunity to listen to Wilson speak. The following recordings date from 1912, the year Wilson ran for the President, and in each, he discusses popular issues of the day:

The 1912 Election having three parties...

Trusts...
Democratic principles...

As you can probably tell, President Wilson had no discernible regional accent; as a youth, he trained himself out of his Virginian accent when he practiced his oratory in his father's church daily. Please share with us what you think in the comments below!