Who Was Woodrow Wilson?

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Woodrow Wilson was an extremely well-educated man with three degrees (Bachelors, Law, PhD) and many years of teaching experience as a professor at Princeton College (now University).

Teaching law and being a president are two very different roles, and Wilson did both very well.

Here is a basic job description of a law professor, from Columbia Law School:

• Teach at least three to four courses of law, serve on a committee, work in the law field (for free, also called pro bono) to make contributions to the field, be part of a professional organization, conduct research and publish it, and write academic articles.

Here is a basic job description for president (from Scholastic, Inc):

• Enforce laws, treaties and court rulings is the Commander in Chief (decides if troops are sent to war), prepares the national budget (how money is spent), creates policies on how the country will be run, appoints federal officials (like judges), and approves or vetoes (rejects) the things that Congress decides.

Consider these very different job descriptions and fill in the similarities and differences between them on the Graphic Organizer - Venn Diagram, found under Downloadable Resources in the right-hand sidebar.

Think about how the two jobs impact other people (this could be what they have in common) and also how the duties involved may have an effect on the person performing the job (Wilson).

• For example, one similarity could be that both jobs are centered around helping other people (being a professor, you are helping students learn about the law, and as the president, you are serving the people of your nation).

As you watch this Woodrow Wilson video by the American Presidents series, create a list of facts about President Wilson. You will compare your list to the one in the Got It? section: