Born: October 17, 1864 in Watertown, New York, United States
             As secretary of state during World War I, Robert Lansing was overshadowed by President Woodrow Wilson, who conducted most important foreign-policy matters himself. As the German ambassador to the United States once commented, "Since Wilson decides everything, any interview with Lansing is a mere matter of form."
             Born in Watertown, New York, on 17 October 1864, Robert Lansing graduated from Amherst College in 1886. After studying law in his father's law office, he was admitted to the New York State bar in 1889 and became a junior partner in his father's firm in Watertown. In 1890 Lansing married Eleanor Foster, whose father became secretary of state for President Benjamin Harrison in 1892. Reaping the benefits of nepotism, Lansing was appointed associate counsel for the United States in international arbitration and served as counsel on many international arbitration cases over the next sixteen years. In 1907 he became a founding editor of the American Journal of International Law. During the opening months of World War I, Lansing worked as a lawyer in the Department of State, serving as acting secretary during Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan's frequent absences from Washington. When Bryan unexpectedly resigned in June 1915 during the Lusitania crisis, President Wilson appointed Lansing to the post.
             Lansing can be easily related to today's president, George W. Bush. This is because, when Lansing was secretary of state, Wilson still made all the decisions for him. And currently, even though Bush is the president, Cheney makes all the decisions for him.
             Unlike Bryan, who brought to his cabinet position
             considerable political skills and influence gained as
             a three-time nominee for the presidency, Lansing, as a
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