1910's Government and Politics | Baker, Newton D. 1871-1937

SECRETARY OF WAR, 1916-1921

Mobilization for World War I.

As secretary of war for a president who campaigned for reelection in November 1916 on the motto "He Kept Us Out of War," Newton Baker had the unenviable task of rapidly and efficiently mobilizing American troops once the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917.

Background.

Born on 3 December 1871 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, Newton Diehl Baker studied political science, economics, and history at Johns Hopkins University from 1888 to 1892. He often ate meals with Woodrow Wilson, then a young instructor at Johns Hopkins, at a boardinghouse near the university—an event they would reminisce about years later. After receiving his law degree from Washington and Lee in 1894, Baker returned home to Martinsburg and established a law practice. In 1896 Baker's father used his friendship with Postmaster General William L. Wilson to secure a...