Josephus Daniels | |
|---|---|
 Daniels c. 1920 | |
| 10th United States Ambassador to Mexico | |
| In office April 24, 1933 – November 9, 1941 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | J. Reuben Clark |
| Succeeded by | George S. Messersmith |
| 41st United States Secretary of the Navy | |
| In office March 5, 1913 – March 4, 1921 | |
| President | Woodrow Wilson |
| Deputy | Franklin D. Roosevelt Gordon Woodbury |
| Preceded by | George Meyer |
| Succeeded by | Edwin Denby |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 18, 1862 Washington, North Carolina, Confederate States of America |
| Died | January 15, 1948 (aged 85) Raleigh, North Carolina, United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Addie Worth Bagley |
| Education | Duke University (BA) University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (LLB) |
Josephus Daniels (May 18, 1862 – January 15, 1948) was an American diplomat and newspaper editor from the 1880s until his death, who managed The News & Observer in Raleigh, at the time North Carolina's largest circulation newspaper, for decades. A Democrat,[1] he was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson to serve as Secretary of the Navy during World War I. He became a close friend and supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy. After Roosevelt was elected President of the United States, he appointed Daniels as his U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, serving from 1933 to 1941. Daniels was a vehement white supremacist and segregationist. Along with Charles Brantley Aycock and Furnifold McLendel Simmons, he was a leading perpetrator of the Wilmington insurrection of 1898.
As Secretary of the Navy, Daniels handled policy and formalities in World War I while his top aide, Roosevelt, handled the major wartime decisions. After the Mexican Revolution, as ambassador to Mexico, Daniels dealt with the anti-American government and its expropriation of American oil investments. In North Carolina in the early 20th century, he had been a leading progressive, supporting public schools and public works, and calling for more regulation of trusts and railroads. He supported prohibition and women's suffrage, and used his newspapers to support the regular Democratic Party ticket.
Daniels believed that "the greatest folly and crime" in U.S. history was giving "Negroes" the vote.[2] He and his newspaper "championed the white supremacy cause in frequent news reports, vigorously worded editorials, provocative letters, and vicious front page cartoons that called attention to what the newspaper called the horrors of 'negro rule.'"[2] Daniels argued that as long as African Americans had any political power, they would block progressive reforms.[3]
He was highly influential in the state legislature's passage in 1900 of a suffrage amendment that effectively disenfranchised most blacks in the state, excluding them from the political system for decades until the late 20th century. They were also excluded from juries and subject to legal racial segregation.
- ^ Alan Dawley (November 28, 2013). Changing the World: American Progressives in War and Revolution: American Progressives in War and Revolution. Princeton University Press. pp. 121–. ISBN 978-1-4008-5059-4.
- ^ a b Campbell, W. Joseph (1999). "'One of the Fine Figures of American Journalism': A Closer Look at Josephus Daniels of the Raleigh 'News and Observer'". American Journalism. 16 (4): 37–39. doi:10.1080/08821127.1999.10739206.
- ^ Craig, Lee A. (2013). Josephus Daniels: His Life and Times. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 134–139. ISBN 9781469606958.