John I. Cox

John I. Cox

John Isaac Cox (born November 23, 1855 in Blountsville , Sullivan County , Tennessee , † September 5, 1946 in Abingdon , Virginia ) was an American politician and the 33rd governor of the state of Tennessee.

Early years

Born in Blountsville, John Isaac Cox lost his father at the age of seven, who had died as a Confederate soldier in the Civil War . As a result, he had to contribute to the family support together with his mother and siblings. He took on a variety of odd jobs and eventually made enough to attend Blountsville Academy . He later studied law and opened a law firm in 1885. In 1887 he became a judge in Sullivan County. He then moved to Bristol , where he became a councilor and prosecutor. He was also a tax officer for the state of Tennessee.

Political career

John Cox was a member of the Democratic Party and was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1893 . He stayed there for two years. Since 1901 he sat in the Tennessee Senate . In 1905 he was appointed speaker of this body . This office was and is in Tennessee synonymous with the function of a lieutenant governor (since 1951 Lieutenant Governor ). In this capacity, Cox fell to the post of governor in March 1905 when incumbent James B. Frazier resigned after just two months in his second term to become a US Senator in Washington . Cox now had to fill the remaining term of office until 1907. During his tenure there was a strike by the miners, which Cox fought with military action, which did not make him popular among the miners. A yellow fever epidemic troubled the state in those days. A particular concern of Cox was increasing the pension rights of veterans of the Civil War. Otherwise he operated economically and pursued a conservative budget policy in order not to drive up the national debt. In 1906 he was not nominated for re-election. Instead, he was re-elected to the Senate of his state. He stayed there until 1912; there was another term in the House of Representatives from Tennessee. Between 1914 and 1922 he was head of the Bristol Postal Service.

End of life and death

In 1913 he had given up his practice as a lawyer. Instead, he devoted himself to his farm, which was near Bristol. From time to time he took part in the political life of the country. He was an ardent supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal . Cox particularly valued Roosevelt's TVA program.

He died in 1946 at the age of 90. He holds the age record of all governors of Tennessee to this day. He was first married to Laura Lee Deaderick and later to Lorena Butler. He had three children in total.

Web links

• John Cox at the National Governors Association (English)
• The governors of Tennessee (English)