Chilling Out with President Wilson

Showing center of Biblical Herb Garden at First Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, NC. Crepe Myrtle at center of green cross was planted by Woodrow Wilson's mother Janet in 1880 (but twice moved since), when her husband, Dr. Joseph R. Wilson, was pastor of First Prez.

This afternoon was for weeding the Biblical Herb Garden at First Presbyterian. Nothing clears one's head like cleaning, organizing, or weeding -- and often one's life spontaneously responds without effort, mirroring these practical behaviors but on a larger scale.

I think it's great that Woodrow Wilson, our President from 1913-1921, spent his late adolescence in our "Presbyterian Manse" that once stood where the herb garden is now. Here's a little info on Wilson, A PROGRESSIVE:

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913. Running against Progressive ("Bull Moose") Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt and Republican candidate William Howard Taft, Wilson was elected President as a Democrat in 1912.

In his first term as President, Wilson persuaded a Democratic Congress to pass major progressive reforms. Historian John Cooper argues that in his first term, Wilson successfully pushed a legislative agenda that few presidents have equaled, and remained unmatched up until the New Deal.^[1]

This agenda included the Federal Reserve Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Federal Farm Loan Act and an income tax. Child labor was curtailed by the Keating–Owen Act of 1916, but the U.S. Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 1918. This act served as an example for the later successful effort in the 1930s.^[2]

He also had Congress pass the Adamson Act, which imposed an 8-hour workday in various industries, which was eventually approved by the Supreme Court.^[3] He also became a major advocate for the women's suffrage amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Much of his agenda would later serve as an example or a basis of support for the New Deal.^[4]