LAD #28 Woodrow Wilson's First Inaugural Address

Summary of Woodrow Wilson's First Inaugural Address, March 4th, 1913:

Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic candidate, won the Presidency in 1912 when the Republican vote was split between the incumbent Taft and the Third-party candidate Roosevelt. 

In his Inaugural Address, Wilson addresses the gradual change in the government to favor the Democratic Party. He explains this by claiming that the nation needs the Party to interpret and change the nation's plans and point of view. He then lists the good and great aspects of the nation, from the genius of its individuals to the structure of its government. He cites that bad has come along with the good, noting especially the human cost and suffering brought about by America's enormous economic expansion. He claims that now the government's and the nation's job is to cleanse and correct the evils brought about by the heedlessness of the country's industrialization. He details the issues that need to be resolved, ranging from the need to alter the foreign tariff, the banking system, the industrial system, and the agricultural system. He stresses the importance of renewing and conserving the natural resources that are being exploited by industry. He also discusses how the government needs to protect its citizens' lives with sanitary laws, pure food laws, and labor laws. He stresses that the economic system will be fixed, and that "Justice, and only justice, shall always be our motto." He ends the speech, "Today is not a day of triumph; it is a day of dedication."