alternatehistory.com

…Wilson was rendered comatose by his stroke on the 21st. Had he been killed by his stroke things would have been much simpler, Vice President Thomas Marshall would have immediately assumed the office of the presidency. However Wilson was still alive, arguably Marshall should exercise the powers and duties of the presidency until Wilson recovered, if he ever did, as was provided for in the Constitution.

However Marshall was, following the precedent of Chester Arthur during the 80 days following James Garfield’s shooting, unwilling to try to exercise that authority. The Constitution offered no clear guidance on the subject, simply stating the duties would devolve on the vice president in the event of incapacity, without defining it or establishing a mechanism by which incapacity of a president would be declared. Not wanting to appear like he was longing for a place as president he refused to even inquire as to Wilson’s health.

This was made worse by the actions of three individuals, First Lady Edith Wilson, White House physician Cary Grayson and Wilson’s private secretary Joseph Tumulty. Despite the mutual dislike between Edith and Tumulty, they were in agreement that they did not want Marshall to take over the powers of the presidency, and Grayson, owing Wilson for an extraordinarily rapid promotion from Lieutenant to Rear Admiral, was willing to go along with them out of loyalty to the president. When Secretary of State Robert Lansing began inquiring over Wilson’s health the three proceeded to give him the run around. However this merely made Lansing angry and begin gathering others in the Cabinet and Congress to press for more information on the President’s condition.

On November 27th Woodrow Wilson woke up. However from Grayson’s private papers it was clear that lasting damage had been done to the president’s health. Wilson suffered partial paralysis of his left leg and showed increased emotional outbursts, impaired judgement and strained impulse control, in addition to being functionally bedridden. Wilson was still by most objective standards incapable of performing the duties of the office. The trio continued to hide that fact and began screening Wilson’s correspondence.

Lansing and others continued to press for more information. Not allowed to see the president for reasons of health, yet told he was healthy enough to perform the duties of the office. A brief and highly stage-managed meeting with Wilson on December 11th did nothing to reassure Lansing and he and the remainder of the cabinet began meeting without Wilson or Marshall. By the New Year’s Lansing had an ultimatum for Wilson’s keepers, have a meeting to prove his competence to the Cabinet and vice president or Lansing would have his congressional allies introduce a bill to declare Wilson incapacitated. Wilson’s keepers were forced to allow a longer meeting, one they could not stage manage to cover for the president’s weaknesses.

On January 13th Wilson met with Lansing, Marshall and a half dozen cabinet members and congressmen. About halfway through the meeting Wilson broke down into an uncharacteristic ranting tirade against what he saw as attempts to usurp his authority. Ten minutes into the speech Wilson seized up and collapsed, having suffered another minor stroke. While he was unconscious for only two hours on this occasion the damage was done.

On January 15th both houses of congress met in a joint emergency session and passed a declaration that Wilson was unable to conduct the duties of president. Thomas Marshall would serve as acting president until Wilson’s recovery had reached a point satisfactory to Congress. Marshall, seeing the necessity of the situation went along with this and took up the duties of the office of the presidency.

While Wilson was indignant over the matter, and his keepers attempted to fight it, they found it futile. The Cabinet officers and executive departments ignored them and reported to Marshall. Within a week they accepted the situation and focused on restoring Wilson’s health so that he could retake the presidency. While Admiral Grayson was able to make great strides within a few months with therapy for Wilson, it was clear that he would not be recovered anytime soon. After a great deal of subtle and less than subtle pressure Woodrow Wilson became the first president to resign the office, doing so on May 1st and leaving Thomas Marshall to become the 29th President of the United States…

…Among the most significant events to occur during Wilson’s incapacity was the Vichy Conference, which occurred on December 28th through the 30th between Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau and Vittorio Orlando. The three men met to discuss war plans and the postwar future of Europe. While little of note actually occurred at the congress, the perception that they were taking advantage of a temporary weakness in the United States became widespread among the American people and would be a major factor in the immediate postwar relations of the victorious powers…

…Wilson’s incapacity undid much of the work he had done in strengthening the presidency during his earlier administration. That the Cabinet was able to work around the incapacitated president set a precedent that loosened presidential control over the executive departments by allowing them to do an increasing amount without direct presidential approval. Furthermore the precedent was now set that a simple vote by congress could declare a president incapacitated and a constitutional amendment was in the offing specifically to deal with the situation that Wilson’s incapacity had created…

-Excerpt from The Loss of Innocence: America in the Great War, Harper & Brothers, New York 2014