1910's Government and Politics | House, Edward M. 1858-1938

PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER, 1913-1921

Foreign-Policy Adviser.

Few men cast a longer shadow in the corridors of power in Washington during the 1910s than Edward Mandell House, who served as President Woodrow Wilson's adviser on European affairs in the years leading up to and during World War I.

Background.

Born in Houston, Texas, on 26 July 1858, House entered Cornell University in 1877, leaving before graduation to manage the cotton plantations he had inherited on the death of his father. After he sold the cotton plantations a decade later, he was able to live in financial independence for the rest of his life.

Entry into Politics.

In 1892, while living in Austin, House successfully managed the gubernatorial reelection campaign of James S. Hogg, who appointed House to his staff and made him an honorary "Colonel"—a title House retained for the rest of his life. House withdrew from politics in 1902,...