A century after Woodrow Wilson left office, his policies and legacy continue to animate our national conversations about American foreign policy and the meanings of progressivism and democracy and to re-analyze the effects of his failures in the area of race relations. Wilson’s time in the White House – and its impact generations after – is rife with paradoxes and contradictions. His progressive “New Freedom” platform envisioned an active federal government as a force for equity, and yet, that vision actively excluded African Americans. Indeed, his often deliberate inaction on racial justice brought to bear the limits of these progressive ideals. Celebrated for advancing democracy and freedom abroad, many of Wilson’s domestic policies entrenched racial segregation and injustice at home, curtailing the rights and privileges of African Americans, women, and immigrants. An accurate and full accounting of the Wilson Era reveals the systemic injustices we continue to confront to this day. At the same time, understanding Wilson’s leading role in defining and leading a new dawn in 20th-century international relations is vital to rethinking those dynamics in the 21st century. The Woodrow Wilson House is committed to listening to as well as leading these important civic discussions. As a hub for both public museum exhibitions and scholarly engagement with Wilson’s legacy as well as the Progressive Era, the Wilson House aims to be a space of reconciliation and healing through an honest, dynamic exploration of the past and the present. On March 4, 1921, Woodrow and Edith Wilson moved out of the White House and into their new home – just a mile and a half away – at 2340 S Street, N.W. in D.C.’s Kalorama neighborhood. The former president lived at S Street house until his death in 1924. Edith called the mansion home until her passing in 1961, at which time she bequeathed the house and its furnishings to the National Trust for Historic Preservation to serve as a monument to President Wilson.
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