View source for James M. Cox

{{Short description|American politician (1870&ndash;1957)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = James Cox
| image               = James M. Cox Portrait (3x4 cropped b).jpg
| caption             = Cox, {{circa}} 1920
| order               = 46th and 48th [[List of governors of Ohio|Governor of Ohio]]
| lieutenant          = [[Earl D. Bloom]]<br>[[Clarence J. Brown]]
| term_start          = January 8, 1917
| term_end            = January 10, 1921
| predecessor         = [[Frank B. Willis]]
| successor           = [[Harry L. Davis]]
| lieutenant1         = [[W. A. Greenlund]]
| term_start1         = January 13, 1913
| term_end1           = January 11, 1915
| predecessor1        = [[Judson Harmon]]
| successor1          = Frank B. Willis
| state2              = [[Ohio]]
| district2           = {{ushr|OH|3|3rd}}
| term_start2         = March 4, 1909
| term_end2           = January 12, 1913
| predecessor2        = [[J. Eugene Harding]]
| successor2          = [[Warren Gard]]
| birth_name          = James Monroe Cox<ref>{{cite book |date=1920 |title=Democratic Campaign Handbook |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=49ozAQAAMAAJ&q=%22james+middleton+cox+is+the+way+biographers%22 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Democratic National Committee |page=103 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1870|3|31}}
| birth_place         = [[Jacksonburg, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1957|7|15|1870|3|31}}
| death_place         = [[Kettering, Ohio]], U.S.
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = Mayme Simpson Harding<br>Margaretta Parker Blair
| children            = 6, including [[James M. Cox Jr.|James]], [[Anne Cox Chambers|Anne]], and [[Barbara Cox Anthony|Barbara]]
| signature           = James M Cox Signature.svg
| resting_place       = [[Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum]]
| module              = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Confidence in Government (James M. Cox).ogg|title=James M. Cox's voice|type=speech|description=Recorded 1920}}
}}
'''James Middleton Cox''' (March 31, 1870{{spaced ndash}} July 15, 1957) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th and 48th [[governor of Ohio]], and a two-term [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] from [[Ohio]]. As the [[History of the Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[President of the United States]] at the [[1920 United States presidential election|1920 presidential election]], he lost in a landslide to fellow Ohioan [[Warren G. Harding]]. Cox's running mate was future president [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. He founded the chain of newspapers that continues today as [[Cox Enterprises]], 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]]'', Cox introduced several innovations and crusaded against the local [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] boss. He served in the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1909 to 1913 before being elected as [[List of governors of Ohio|Governor of Ohio]]. As governor, Cox introduced a series of [[progressivism in the United States|progressive]] reforms and supported [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s handling of [[World War I]] and its aftermath.

Cox was chosen as the Democratic nominee for president on the 44th ballot of the [[1920 Democratic National Convention]]. Running on a ticket with future President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] 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]] in [[1820 United States presidential election|1820]].

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]]. Cox remained active in politics, supporting Roosevelt's campaigns and attending the 1933 [[London Economic Conference]].

==Early life and career==
Cox was born on a farm near the tiny [[Butler County, Ohio]], in the village of [[Jacksonburg, Ohio|Jacksonburg]], he was the youngest son of Gilbert Cox and Eliza (née Andrew); Cox had six siblings.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3IJtVP9WnXEC&q=Morrow+Ohio&pg=PA217 | title=This Day in Ohio History | publisher=Emmis Books | date=2005 | access-date=21 November 2013 | author=Goodman, Rebecca | pages=217| isbn=9781578601912 }}</ref> He 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]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Pietrusza |first=David Pietrusza |date=2008 |title=1920: The Year of the Six Presidents |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uia4A04q8dMC&pg=PT462 |location=New York, NY |publisher=Basic Books |page=462 |isbn=978-0-7867-3213-5 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Morris |first=Charles E. |date=1920 |title=Progressive Democracy of James M. Cox |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=84kDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA14 |location=Indianapolis, IN |publisher=Bobbs-Merrill Company |pages=14–15 |isbn=9781421904047 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Cox was educated in a one-room school until age 16.<ref name=ANBO /> After his parents divorced, Cox moved with Eliza 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 ''[[The Cincinnati Enquirer|Cincinnati Enquirer]]'' as a copy reader on the telegraph desk, and later started to report on spot news including the railroad news. In 1894, he 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.]] Sorg helped Cox to acquire the struggling ''Dayton Evening News'', and Cox, after renaming it into the ''[[Dayton Daily News]]'', 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]] 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]] Saturday magazine supplement inserts, among others. Cox started a crusade against Dayton's [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] boss, Joseph E. Lowes, who used his political clout to profit from government deals. Cox also confronted [[John Henry Patterson (NCR owner)|John H. Patterson]], president of Dayton's [[NCR Corporation|National Cash Register Co.]], revealing facts of antitrust violations and bribery.<ref name="Dayton Daily News">{{Cite web|url=http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/news/dayton-daily-news-history-james-m-cox-publisher/nZQJk/|title=Dayton Daily News history: James M. Cox|access-date=Aug 14, 2019}}</ref> In 1905, foretelling his future media conglomerate, Cox acquired the ''Springfield Press-Republic'' published in [[Springfield, Ohio]], and renamed it the ''Springfield Daily News''.

===Congress===
In 1908, Cox ran for Congress as a Democrat and was elected. He represented [[Ohio]] in the [[United States House of Representatives]] for two terms from 1909 to 1913, and resigned after winning election as [[Governor of Ohio]].<ref name=ANBO />

== 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; Cox 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,<ref>[https://archive.org/details/progressivedemoc00morr Progressive democracy of James M. Cox by Charles E. Morris, P.73-75]</ref> such as laying the foundation of Ohio's unified highway system, creating a no-fault workers' compensation system, and restricting child labor.<ref name=Stockwell>{{cite book|last1=Stockwell|first1=Mary|title=Ohio Adventure|date=2001|publisher=Gibbs Smith|location=Layton, Utah|isbn=9781423623823|pages=156–157|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VJKroULBUpgC|access-date=1 October 2015}}</ref> Cox introduced direct primaries and municipal home rule, started educational and prison reforms, and streamlined the budget and tax processes.<ref>[http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/James_M._Cox James M. Cox], ''Ohio History Central''</ref><ref>[https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/labor-legislation-1912-32-3905/labor-legislation-1914-476851?page=3 Title: Labor Legislation of 1914 : Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 166, P.191-195]</ref>

During [[World War I]], Cox encouraged voluntary cooperation between business, labor, and government bodies. In 1918, he welcomed constitutional amendments for [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] and [[Women's suffrage in the United States|women's suffrage]].<ref name=ANBO /> Cox supported the internationalist policies of [[Woodrow Wilson]] and reluctantly supported U.S. entry into the [[League of Nations]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2007-09-20|title=James M. Cox's Stance on the Issues Facing Democrats in 1920 Election|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB119013476839631205|access-date=2020-10-11|issn=0099-9660}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Prevention of war|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2016655171/|access-date=2020-10-11|website=Library of Congress}}</ref>

In 1919, shortly after the Great War ended, Governor Cox backed the Ake Law, introduced by [[H. Ross Ake]], which banned the [[German language]] 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."<ref>[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jahc/3310410.0001.202/--persecution-of-the-german-language-in-cincinnati-and-the-ake?rgn=main;view=fulltext Persecution of the German Language in Cincinnati and the Ake Law in Ohio, 1917-1919]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160331023154/http://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jahc/3310410.0001.202/--persecution-of-the-german-language-in-cincinnati-and-the-ake?rgn=main;view=fulltext Archived.]</ref>  Legislation restricting the teaching of foreign languages was declared unconstitutional in ''[[Meyer v. Nebraska]]''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}

==Bid for presidency==
[[File:James M. Cox and Franklin D. Roosevelt campain poster, 1920.jpg|thumb|left|Cox/Roosevelt electoral poster]]
[[File:FDR and James M Cox cph.3b03395.jpg|thumb|left|Roosevelt (left) and Cox (right) at a campaign appearance in Washington, D.C., 1920]]
A capable and well-liked progressive reformer,<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vuZPAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA7&dq=COX+IS+PRAISED+BY+STATESMEN&article_id=1120,3333270&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj3q8W08baKAxUvWEEAHa-XB4wQ6AF6BAgFEAI#v=onepage&q=COX%20IS%20PRAISED%20BY%20STATESMEN&f=false The Bryan Times 4 Oct 1912]</ref> 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]] on the 44th ballot.<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/nfhtml/nfexpe.html James M. Cox, Democratic Candidate for President], ''Library of Congress''</ref>

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."<ref name=ANBO /> 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]]. Cox spoke in support of [[Americanization]] to increase the immigrant population's loyalty to the United States.

Despite all of his efforts, Cox was defeated in the [[1920 United States presidential election|1920 presidential election]] by a fellow Ohioan and newspaperman, [[U.S. Senator]] [[Warren G. Harding]] of [[Marion, Ohio|Marion]]. The public had grown weary of the turmoil of the Wilson years and eagerly accepted Harding's call for a "[[return to normalcy]]."  Cox's running mate was future president, then-[[Assistant Secretary of the Navy]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. 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 to 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 of them but Cox would ultimately become president: Harding won and was succeeded by his running mate, [[Calvin Coolidge]], after Harding died in office, and Roosevelt would be elected president in 1932. However, Cox would outlive all three men by several years.
[[File:Franklin D. Roosevelt and James Cox in Dayton, Ohio - NARA - 197236.jpg|thumb|right|Cox with FDR in Dayton, Ohio during 1920 presidential campaign]]

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 1918–20.<ref>[http://www.authentichistory.com/special/nationsforum/index.html Nation's Forum Recordings: 1918-1920], ''AuthenticHistory.com''</ref><ref>[https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/nfhtml/ American leaders speak], ''Library of Congress''</ref> Among them was the campaign speech now preserved at the [[Library of Congress]] that accused the Republicans of failing to acknowledge that Wilson's successful prosecution of the Great War had, according to Cox, "saved civilization."<ref>Governor James M. Cox. [https://www.loc.gov/item/2016655170/ The World War], ''Library of Congress sound recording''</ref>

==Later years and death==
After stepping down from public service, Cox concentrated on building a large media conglomerate, [[Cox Enterprises]]. In 1923, he acquired the ''Miami Daily News'' and the ''Canton Daily News''. In December 1939, Cox purchased the ''[[Atlanta Georgian]]'' and ''[[Atlanta Journal|Journal]]'', just a week before that city hosted the premiere of ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]''.<ref name="Journey">Cox, James M. (2004). ''Journey through my years.'' Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press.</ref>{{rp|389}} This deal included radio station [[WSB (AM)|WSB]], which joined his previous holdings, [[WHIO (AM)|WHIO]] in Dayton and [[WIOD]] in Miami, to give Cox, "'air' from the [[Great Lakes]] on the north to [[Latin America]] on the south."<ref name="Journey" />{{rp|387}}

Cox continued to be involved in politics, and in [[1932 United States presidential election|1932]], [[1936 United States presidential election|1936]], [[1940 United States presidential election|1940]], and [[1944 United States presidential election|1944]], Cox (a supporter of the [[New Deal]]<ref>[https://www.google.co.za/books/edition/Journey_Through_My_Years/4FllmLBiAmMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=James+M.+Cox+New+Deal&printsec=frontcover Journey Through My Years By James Middleton Cox, 2004 Edition, P.339]</ref>) supported and campaigned for the presidential candidacies of his former running mate [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], unlike the other losing Democratic presidential candidates of the time [[John W. Davis]] and [[Al Smith]]. In 1933, Cox was appointed by Roosevelt to the U.S. delegation to the failed [[London Economic Conference]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4NxNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6590,53411&dq=james+cox+london+conference&hl=en|title=The Free Lance-Star - Google News Archive Search|website=news.google.com|access-date=Aug 14, 2019}}</ref>

When he was 76, Cox published his memoir, ''Journey through My Years'' (1946).

In 1915, Cox built a home near those of industrialists [[Charles F. Kettering|Charles Kettering]] and [[Edward Andrew Deeds|Edward Deeds]] in what later became [[Kettering, Ohio]], where he lived for four decades. It was constructed in the classical [[French Renaissance architecture|French-Renaissance]] style with six bedrooms, six bathrooms, two tennis courts, a billiards room, and an in-ground swimming pool.<ref>[http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/former-cox-mansion-sold-in-cash-deal/nk4SS/ Former Cox mansion sold in cash deal], ''Dayton Daily News'', April 27, 2015.</ref> Cox named the home Trailsend.

===Death===
Cox died at Trailsend on July 15, 1957, after a series of strokes.<ref>James M. Cox obituary, ''The New York Times'', 16 July 1957.</ref> He is interred in the [[Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio|Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, Dayton, Ohio]].

[[File:Governor James M. Cox Gravesite.jpg|thumb|The gravesite of Governor James M. Cox]]

==Election history==
===President of the United States, 1920===
{{start U.S. presidential ticket box| pv_footnote=| ev_footnote=}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Warren G. Harding]]| party=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]| state=[[Ohio]]| pv=16,144,093| pv_pct=60.32%| ev=404| vp_name=[[Calvin Coolidge]]| vp_state=[[Massachusetts]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=James M. Cox| party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]| state=Ohio| pv=9,139,661| pv_pct=34.15%| ev=127| vp_name=[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]| vp_state=[[New York (state)|New York]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Eugene V. Debs]]| party=[[Socialist Party of America|Socialist]]| state=[[Indiana]]| pv=913,693| pv_pct=3.41%| ev=0| vp_name=[[Seymour Stedman]]| vp_state=[[Illinois]]}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Parley P. Christensen]]| party=[[Farmer–Labor Party (United States)|Farmer-Labor]]| state=[[Illinois]]| pv=265,398| pv_pct=0.99%| ev=0| vp_name=[[Max S. Hayes]]| vp_state=Ohio}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[Aaron S. Watkins]]| party=[[Prohibition Party|Prohibition]]| state=Indiana| pv=188,787| pv_pct=0.71%| ev=0| vp_name=[[D. Leigh Colvin]]| vp_state=New York}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[James E. Ferguson]]| party=[[American Party (Texas)|American]]| state=[[Texas]]| pv=47,968| pv_pct=0.18%| ev=0| vp_name=William J. Hough| vp_state=New York}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=[[William Wesley Cox]]| party=[[Socialist Labor Party of America|Socialist Labor]]| state=[[Missouri]]| pv=31,084| pv_pct=0.12%| ev=0| vp_name=[[August Gillhaus]]| vp_state=New York}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box row| name=Robert Colvin Macauley| party=Single Tax| state=[[Pennsylvania]]| pv=5,750| pv_pct=0.02%| ev=0| vp_name=Richard C. Barnum| vp_state=Ohio}}
{{U.S. presidential ticket box other| footnote=| pv=28,746| pv_pct=0.11%| }}
{{end U.S. presidential ticket box| pv=26,765,180| ev=531| to_win=266}}

'''Source (Popular Vote):''' {{Leip PV source 2| year=1920| as of=September 11, 2012}}

'''Source (Electoral Vote):''' {{National Archives EV source| year=1920| as of=July 31, 2005}}

===Governor of Ohio===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Democratic !! Republican !! Others
|-
| 1918<ref name=cleve>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/2010/11/ohio_gubernatorial_election_re.html|title=Ohio gubernatorial election results: Republicans dominate recent elections|first=Rich|last=Exner|date=Nov 1, 2010|website=cleveland.com|access-date=Aug 14, 2019}}</ref> || '''James M. Cox''' : 486,403|| [[Frank B. Willis]] : 474,459 || &nbsp;
|-
| 1916<ref>{{cite book |title=Journal of the House of Representatives of the Eighty Second General Assembly of the State of Ohio |year=1917 |page=26 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=odJMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA26}}</ref> || '''James M. Cox''' : 568,218 || [[Frank B. Willis]] : 561,602 || Tom Clifford : 36,908<br>John H. Dickason : 7,347
|-
| 1914<ref>{{cite book |title=Ohio general statistics for the period commencing November 16, 1914 and ending June 30, 1915  |first=Charles Q. |last=Hildebrant |author-link=Charles Q. Hildebrant| page=20 |year=1916 |publisher=[[Ohio Secretary of State]] |volume=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zBkoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA20}}</ref> || James M. Cox : 493,804 || '''[[Frank B. Willis]]''' : 523,074 || [[James R. Garfield]] ([[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive]]) : 60,904<br>Scott Wilkins (Socialist) : 51,441
|-
| 1912<ref name=cleve/> || '''James M. Cox''' : 439,323 || [[Robert B. Brown]] : 272,500 || &nbsp;
|-
|}

===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<ref>{{cite book |last=Langland |first=James |date=1911 |title=The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for 1912 |volume=28 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ERgfAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA444 |location=Chicago, IL |publisher=Chicago Daily News Company |page=444}}</ref>

'''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<ref>{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Carmi |date=1910 |title=Annual Report of the Ohio Secretary of State, 1909 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n14tAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA255 |location=Springfield, OH |publisher=Springfield Publishing Company |page=255}}</ref>

==Family==
Cox was married twice. His first marriage to Mayme Simpson Harding lasted from 1893 to 1912, and ended in divorce.<ref name=ANBO>{{cite web|last1=Cebula|first1=James|title=Cox, James Middleton|url=https://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=h-us1918-45&month=0312&msg=jQiWjjDXUqQVkOBFX4BQhw|publisher=Oxford University Press|work=[[American National Biography Online]]|access-date=1 October 2015|archive-date=29 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121229104304/http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx|url-status=dead}}</ref> He married Margaretta Parker Blair in 1917 and she survived him.<ref name=ANBO/><ref name=NNDB>{{cite web|title=James M. Cox|url=http://www.nndb.com/people/852/000137441/|publisher=Soylent Communications|work=[[NNDB]]|access-date=2011-07-29}}</ref> Cox had six children, three by Mayme Harding, sons [[James M. Cox Jr.|James McMahon]] and John William and a daughter Helen Harding,<ref name="jrob">{{cite news|title=James M. Cox Jr. Is Dead at 71; Led News, Broadcasting Chain|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/28/archives/james-m-cox-jr-is-dead-at-71-led-news-broadcasting-chain-at-1912.html|work=The New York Times|date=28 October 1974}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/presidential-campaign-advertisement-for-the-democratic-team-news-photo/976007560|title=Presidential campaign advertisement for the Democratic team of James...|website=Getty Images|date=June 14, 2018 |access-date=Aug 14, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/presidential-campaign-advertisement-for-the-democratic-team-news-photo/976010210|title=Presidential campaign advertisement for the Democratic team of James...|website=Getty Images|date=June 14, 2018 |access-date=Aug 14, 2019}}</ref> a son who died in infancy, and two daughters by Margaretta Blair: [[Anne Cox Chambers]] and [[Barbara Cox Anthony]].<ref name=ANBO/><ref name=NNDB/> His son [[James M. Cox Jr.]], who took over the business after his death, was chairman of [[Cox Enterprises]], [[Cox Communications]], and [[Cox Media Group]] in Atlanta.<ref name="jrob"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.grady.uga.edu/coxinstitute/jcoxmem/LaterYearsPg.htm|title=In Memoriam: James M. Cox Jr.|website=www.grady.uga.edu|access-date=Aug 14, 2019|archive-date=October 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022033735/http://www.grady.uga.edu/coxinstitute/jcoxmem/LaterYearsPg.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> His daughter Helen died in 1921 and her husband Daniel Joseph Mahoney was president of [[Cox Newspapers]]. His descendants through Chambers and Anthony, including billionaires [[Blair Parry-Okeden]], [[James C. Kennedy]], [[James Cox Chambers]], [[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]] member, newspaper publisher and editor, politician, elected official and finally, a regional media magnate.<ref name=NelsonRunk>{{cite book|title=History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio|date=1894|publisher=S. B. Nelson & Company|location=Cincinnati|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofcincinn00nels/page/n873 590]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofcincinn00nels|access-date=1 October 2015}}</ref>

In [[Ohio]], Cox is remembered as a crusading publisher of the ''[[Dayton Daily News]]'' and progressive governor; the newspaper's editorial meeting room is still referred to as the ''Governor's Library''. The [[Dayton International Airport|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."<ref name="Dayton Daily News" />

The Cox Fine Arts Building at the Ohio Expo Center and [[Ohio State Fair|State Fair]] in Columbus, Ohio, is named in honor of Cox.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[Ohio gubernatorial elections]]
* [[List of governors of Ohio]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
===Secondary sources===
* Bagby, Wesley M. ''The Road to Normalcy: The Presidential Campaign and Election of 1920.'' Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1962.
* Brake, Robert J. "The porch and the stump: Campaign strategies in the 1920 presidential election." ''Quarterly Journal of Speech'' 55.3 (1969): 256–267.
* Cebula, James E. ''James M. Cox: Journalist and Politician.'' New York: Garland, 1985.
* Morris, Charles E. ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5639 The Progressive Democracy of James M. Cox.]'' Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1920. (From [[Project Gutenberg]], full text.)
* Warner, Hoyt L. ''Progressivism in Ohio, 1897-1917.'' Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1964.

===Primary sources===
* {{cite book|last1=Cox|first1=James M.|title=Journey through my years|date=2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4FllmLBiAmMC|publisher=Mercer University Press|location=Macon, Ga.|isbn=9780865549593}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
{{CongBio|C000835}}
* [http://www.libraries.wright.edu/special/collection_guides/guide_files/ms2.pdf James Middleton Cox Papers, Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University, Dayton, OH]
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=James M. Cox |sopt=t}}
* [http://www.davidpietrusza.com/1920-links.html 1920 Presidential Election Links] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211090705/http://www.davidpietrusza.com/1920-links.html |date=2018-12-11 }}

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{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=[[J. Eugene Harding]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States Representatives from Ohio|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Ohio's 3rd congressional district]]|years=1909–1913}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Warren Gard]]}}

{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Judson Harmon]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[Ohio gubernatorial elections|nominee]] for [[List of Governors of Ohio|Governor of Ohio]]|years=[[1912 Ohio gubernatorial election|1912]], [[1914 Ohio gubernatorial election|1914]], [[1916 Ohio gubernatorial election|1916]], [[1918 Ohio gubernatorial election|1918]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[A. Victor Donahey]]}}

{{s-bef|before=[[Woodrow Wilson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[List of United States Democratic Party presidential tickets|nominee]] for [[President of the United States]]|years=[[1920 United States presidential election|1920]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John W. Davis]]}}

{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Judson Harmon]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Governors of Ohio|Governor of Ohio]]|years=1913–1915}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Frank B. Willis]]}}

{{s-bef|before=Frank B. Willis}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Governors of Ohio|Governor of Ohio]]|years=1917–1921}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Harry L. Davis]]}}
{{s-end}}
}}

{{Navboxes
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{{Unsuccessful major party pres candidates}}
{{Governors of Ohio}}
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{{USDemPresNominees}}
{{United States presidential election, 1920}}
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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, James M.}}
[[Category:1870 births]]
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[[Category:American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:American newspaper chain owners]]
[[Category:American United Brethren in Christ]]
[[Category:Burials at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum]]
[[Category:Cox family|James M.]]
[[Category:Dayton Daily News]]
[[Category:Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees]]
[[Category:Democratic Party governors of Ohio]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio]]
[[Category:People from Butler County, Ohio]]
[[Category:People from Kettering, Ohio]]
[[Category:Politicians from Dayton, Ohio]]
[[Category:The Cincinnati Enquirer people]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1920 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1924 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:American temperance activists]]
[[Category:20th-century United States representatives]]