LAD #28: Wilson's First Inaugural

Wilson's first inaugural address addressed the changes that needed to be made in society. Wilson spoke about the morals of the American people. He discussed how successful the Industrial Revolution was and stated the underlying causes of it. Wilson talked about how the boom in industry has led to a lot of corruption that needed to stop. He spoke out about the "human cost, the cost of lives snuffled out, (of) energies overtaxed and broken." Wilson continued on to admit that the United States Government "has too often been made use of for private and selfish purposes" and that major reforms were going to occur within the government because of this. Wilson promised to reform sanitary laws, pure food laws, and labor condition laws. Wilson actually carried through with these promises with his Pure Food and Drug Act passes. Wilson sought to reform the nation by not using a laissez-faire form of government. He understood that reform will be necessary and that the nation is capable of it.