James Middleton Cox (March 31, 1870 July 15, 1957) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th and 48th

governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, and a two-term

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. As the Democratic nominee for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

at the 1920 presidential election, he lost in a landslide to fellow Ohioan

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

. His running mate was future president

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. He founded the chain of newspapers that continues today as

Cox Enterprises Cox Enterprises, Inc. is an American private company, privately held global conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately 55,000 employees and $21 billion in total revenue. Its major ope ...

, a media conglomerate. Born and raised in Ohio, Cox began his career as a newspaper copy reader before becoming an assistant to Congressman Paul J. Sorg. As owner of the ''

Dayton Daily News The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately 55,000 employee ...

'', Cox introduced several innovations and crusaded against the local Republican Party boss. He served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1909 to 1913 before being elected as

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

. As governor, Cox introduced a series of progressive reforms and supported

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

's handling of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and its aftermath. He was chosen as the Democratic nominee for president on the forty-fourth ballot of the

1920 Democratic National Convention The 1920 Democratic National Convention was held at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California from June 28 to July 6, 1920. It resulted in the nomination of Governor James M. Cox of Ohio for president and Assistant Secretary of the Na ...

. Running on a ticket with future President

as his vice presidential running mate, Cox suffered the worst popular vote defeat (a 26.17% margin) since the unopposed re-election of

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

1820 Events January–March *January 1 – A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament to meet on March 7, becoming the nominal beginning of the "Trienio Liberal" in History of Spain (1 ...

. Cox retired from public office after the 1920 presidential election to focus on his media conglomerate, which expanded into several cities. By 1939, his media empire extended from Dayton to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. He remained active in politics, supporting Roosevelt's campaigns and attending the 1933

London Economic Conference Geological Museum building, London The London Monetary and Economic Conference of 1933, also known as the London Economic Conference, was a meeting of representatives of 66 nations from June 12 to July 27, 1933, at the Geological Museum in Lond ...

Early life and career

Cox was born on a farm near the tiny

Butler County, Ohio Butler County is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 390,357. Its county seat and largest city is Hamilton, Ohio, Ham ...

, in the village of Jacksonburg, he was the youngest son of Gilbert Cox and Eliza (née Andrew); he had six siblings. Cox was named James Monroe Cox at birth; he was later known as James Middleton Cox, possibly because he spent part of his early years in

Middletown, Ohio Middletown is a city in Butler County, Ohio, Butler and Warren County, Ohio, Warren counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 50,987 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area in sou ...

. Cox was educated in a one-room school until the age sixteen. After his parents divorced, he moved with his mother in 1886 to Middletown, where he started a journalistic apprenticeship at the ''Middletown Weekly Signal'' published by John Q. Baker. In 1892 Cox received a job at the ''

Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, altho ...

'' as a copy reader on the telegraph desk, and later started to report on spot news including the railroad news. In 1894, Cox became an assistant to Middletown businessman Paul J. Sorg who was elected to U.S. Congress, and spent three formative years in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Sorg helped Cox to acquire the struggling ''Dayton Evening News'', and Cox, after renaming it into the ''

'', turned it by 1900 into a successful afternoon newspaper outperforming competing ventures. He refocused local news, increased national, international and sports news coverage based on

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

wire service, published timely market quotes with stock-exchange, grain and livestock tables, and introduced several innovations including photo-journalistic approach to news coverage, suburban columns, book serializations and

McClure's ''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism (investigative journ ...

Saturday magazine supplement inserts, among others. Cox started a crusade against Dayton's Republican boss, Joseph E. Lowes, who used his political clout to profit from government deals. He also confronted John H. Patterson, president of Dayton's National Cash Register Co., revealing facts of antitrust violations and bribery. In 1905, foretelling his future media conglomerate, Cox acquired the ''Springfield Press-Republic'' published in

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in Clark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in southwestern Ohio along the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, about west of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus and northeast of ...

, and renamed it the ''Springfield Daily News''.

Congress

In 1908, he ran for Congress as a Democrat and was elected. Cox represented

in the

for two terms from 1909 to 1913, and resigned after winning election as

Governor of Ohio

Cox won the 1912 election for Governor of Ohio, in a three-way race gaining 41.5% of the vote. Cox served three terms; after winning the 1912 election, he served from 1913 to 1915; he lost reelection in 1914, but won the 1916 and 1918 elections, and served from 1917 to 1921. He presided over a wide range of social reform measures, such as laying the foundation of Ohio's unified highway system, creating a no-fault workers' compensation system, and restricting child labor. He introduced direct primaries and municipal home rule, started educational and prison reforms, and streamlined the budget and tax processes. During

, Cox encouraged voluntary cooperation between business, labor, and government bodies. In 1918, he welcomed constitutional amendments for

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

and

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

. Cox supported the internationalist policies of

and reluctantly supported U.S. entry into the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. In 1919, shortly after the Great War ended, Governor Cox backed the Ake Law, introduced by H. Ross Ake, which banned the

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

from being taught until the eighth grade, even in private schools. Cox claimed that teaching German was "a distinct menace to Americanism, and part of a plot formed by the German government to make the school children loyal to it." Legislation restricting the teaching of foreign languages was declared unconstitutional in ''

Meyer v. Nebraska ''Meyer v. Nebraska'', 262 U.S. 390 (1923), was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, United States Supreme Court that held that the "Siman Act", a 1919 Nebraska law prohibiting min ...

''.

Bid for presidency

A capable and well-liked progressive reformer, Cox was nominated for the presidency by the Democratic Party at the 1920 Democratic convention in San Francisco defeating A. Mitchell Palmer and

William Gibbs McAdoo William Gibbs McAdoo Jr.McAdoo is variously differentiated from family members of the same name: * Dr. William Gibbs McAdoo (1820–1894) – sometimes called "I" or "Senior" * William Gibbs McAdoo (1863–1941) – sometimes called "II" or "J ...

on the 44th ballot. Cox conducted an activist campaign visiting 36 states and delivering 394 speeches mainly focusing on domestic issues, to the displeasure of the Wilsonians, who pictured the election "as a referendum on the League of Nations." To fight unemployment and inflation, he suggested simultaneously lowering income and business profits taxes. He promised to introduce national collective bargaining legislation and pledged his support to the

Volstead Act The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was an act of the 66th United States Congress designed to execute the 18th Amendment (ratified January 1919) which established the prohibition of alcoholic drinks. The Anti- ...

. Cox spoke in support of

Americanization Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...

to increase the immigrant population's loyalty to the United States. Despite all of his efforts, Cox was defeated in the 1920 presidential election by a fellow Ohioan and newspaperman,

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Marion Marion or MARION may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Marion (band), a British alternative rock group * ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries * ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film * ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short People a ...

. The public had grown weary of the turmoil of the Wilson years and eagerly accepted Harding's call for a "

return to normalcy "Return to normalcy" was a campaign slogan used by Warren G. Harding during the 1920 United States presidential election. Harding won the election with 60.4% of the popular vote. 1920 election In a speech delivered on May 14, 1920, Harding pr ...

." Cox's running mate was future president, then-

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depart ...

. One of the better-known analyses of the 1920 election is in Irving Stone's book about defeated presidential candidates, '' They Also Ran.'' Stone rated Cox as superior in every way over Harding and claimed that Cox would have made a much better president. Stone argued that there was never a stronger case in the history of American presidential elections for the proposition that the better man lost. Of the four men on both tickets, all but Cox would ultimately become president: Harding won and was succeeded by his running mate,

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

, after Harding died in office, and Roosevelt would be elected president in 1932. Cox would, however, outlive all three men by several years. During the campaign, Cox recorded several times for ''The Nation's Forum'', a record label that made voice recordings of American political and civic leaders in 1918–1920. Among them was the campaign speech now preserved at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

that accused the Republicans of failing to acknowledge that Wilson's successful prosecution of the Great War had, according to Cox, "saved civilization."

Later years and death

After stepping down from public service, he concentrated on building a large media conglomerate,

. In 1923 he acquired the ''Miami Daily News'' and the ''Canton Daily News''. In December 1939, he purchased the ''

Atlanta Georgian ''The Atlanta Georgian'' was an American daily afternoon newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. History Founded by New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northea ...

'' and ''

Journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

'', just a week before that city hosted the premiere of ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

''.Cox, James M. (2004). ''Journey through my years.'' Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press. This deal included radio station WSB, which joined his previous holdings, WHIO in Dayton and

WIOD WIOD (610 AM) is a commercial radio station in Miami, serving South Florida. It airs a talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, The studios are on SW 145th Avenue in Pembroke Pines. WIOD's transmitter site is on Krome Avenue in Wes ...

in Miami, to give him, "'air' from the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

on the north to

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

on the south." He continued to be involved in politics, and in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

, and

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

, Cox (a supporter of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

) supported and campaigned for the presidential candidacies of his former running mate

, unlike the other losing Democratic presidential candidates of the time

John W. Davis John William Davis (April 13, 1873 – March 24, 1955) was an American politician, diplomat and lawyer. He served under President Woodrow Wilson as the Solicitor General of the United States and the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom ...

and

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...

. In 1933, Cox was appointed by Roosevelt to the U.S. delegation to the failed

. When he was seventy-six, Cox published his memoir, ''Journey through My Years'' (1946). In 1915, Cox built a home near those of industrialists

Charles Kettering Charles Franklin Kettering (August 29, 1876 – November 25, 1958) sometimes known as Charles Fredrick Kettering was an American inventor, engineer, businessman, and the holder of 186 patents. For the list of patents issued to Kettering, see, Le ...

and Edward Deeds in what later became

Kettering, Ohio Kettering is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. It is an inner suburb of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton. The city had a population of 57,862 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous suburb in the Dayton metr ...

, where he lived for four decades. It was constructed in the classical French-Renaissance style with six bedrooms, six bathrooms, two tennis courts, a billiards room and an in-ground swimming pool. Cox named the home Trailsend.

Death

Cox died at Trailsend on July 15, 1957, after a series of strokes. He is interred in the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, Dayton, Ohio.

Election history

President of the United States, 1920

Source (Popular Vote): Source (Electoral Vote):

Governor of Ohio

United States House of Representatives

Ohio's 3rd Congressional District 1910 * James M. Cox (D), 31,539 * George R. Young (R), 18,730 * Harmon Evans (Socialist), 6,275 * Richard E. O'Byrne (Prohibition), 286 1908 * James M. Cox (D), 32,534 votes * William G. Frizell (R), 12,593 * J. Eugene Harding (Independent), 19,306 * Howard H. Caldwell (Socialist), 2,943 * Henry A. Thompson (Prohibition), 267

Family

Cox was married twice. His first marriage to Mayme Simpson Harding lasted from 1893 to 1912, and ended in divorce. He married Margaretta Parker Blair in 1917 and she survived him. Cox had six children, three by Mayme Harding, sons James McMahon and John William and a daughter Helen Harding, a son who died in infancy, and two daughters by Margaretta Blair: Anne Cox Chambers and

Barbara Cox Anthony Barbara Blair Cox Anthony (December 8, 1922 – May 28, 2007) was the youngest daughter of James M. Cox, a Democratic governor of Ohio, newspaper publisher and broadcaster. With her sister Anne Cox Chambers and her brother James M. Cox, Jr., s ...

. His son

James M. Cox Jr. James McMahon Cox Jr. (June 27, 1903 – October 27, 1974), was an American businessman who became the chairman of Cox Enterprises and Cox Broadcasting Corporation after his father James M. Cox died in 1957. His charitable foundation supported c ...

, who took over the business after his death, was chairman of

Cox Communications Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable), is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services comp ...

, and

Cox Media Group CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company p ...

in Atlanta. His daughter Helen died in 1921 and her husband Daniel Joseph Mahoney was president of

Cox Newspapers CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company prim ...

. His descendants through Chambers and Anthony, including billionaires Blair Parry-Okeden, James C. Kennedy,

James Cox Chambers James Cox Chambers (born 1956/57) is an American billionaire heir, renewable energy businessman, and filmmaker. As of May 2022, his net worth was estimated at US$4.7 billion. Early life Chambers is the son of Anne Cox Chambers, the former US Am ...

, Katharine Rayner and Margaretta Taylor, are major shareholders in Cox Enterprises.

Legacy

Cox practiced a variety of trades throughout his life, being a farmer, reporter,

Congressional staff Congressional staff are employees of a legislative Congress who support legislators in their duties. They handle a variety of tasks, including policy research, constituent services, communications, and administrative support. Staffers may work ...

member, newspaper publisher and editor, politician, elected official and finally, a regional media magnate. In

, Cox is remembered as a crusading publisher of the ''

'' and progressive governor; the newspaper's editorial meeting room is still referred to as the ''Governor's Library''. The James M. Cox Dayton International Airport, more commonly referenced simply as ''Dayton International Airport'', was named for Cox as well. Cox is credited with words, "If there is anything in the theory of reincarnation of the soul then in my next assignment, if I be given the right of choice, I will ask for the aroma of printers ink." The Cox Fine Arts Building at the Ohio Expo Center and

State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in t ...

in Columbus, Ohio, is named in honor of Cox.

References

External links

James Middleton Cox Papers, Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University, Dayton, OH
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, James M. 1870 births 1957 deaths American Episcopalians American male journalists American newspaper chain owners American United Brethren in Christ Burials at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

Dayton Daily News Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees Democratic Party governors of Ohio Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio People from Butler County, Ohio People from Kettering, Ohio Politicians from Dayton, Ohio The Cincinnati Enquirer people Candidates in the 1920 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1924 United States presidential election American temperance activists 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Early life and career

Congress

Governor of Ohio

Bid for presidency

Later years and death

Death

Election history

President of the United States, 1920

Governor of Ohio

United States House of Representatives

Family

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

Secondary sources

Primary sources

External links