James Couzens | |
|---|---|
_LCCN2016847013_(cropped).jpg) Couzens in 1922 | |
| United States Senator fromMichigan | |
| In office November 29, 1922 – October 22, 1936 | |
| Preceded by | Truman H. Newberry |
| Succeeded by | Prentiss M. Brown |
| 47thMayor of Detroit | |
| In office 1919–1922 | |
| Preceded by | Oscar Marx |
| Succeeded by | John C. Lodge |
| 7thCommissioner of the Detroit Police Department[1] | |
| In office September 30, 1916 – July 5, 1918 | |
| Preceded by | Ernest Marquardt |
| Succeeded by | John Gillespie |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1872-08-26)August 26, 1872 Chatham, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | October 22, 1936(1936-10-22) (aged 64) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Children | 6 (includingFrank) |
James Joseph Couzens[2] (August 26, 1872 – October 22, 1936) was an American businessman, politician and philanthropist. He served asmayor of Detroit (1919–1922) andU.S. senator fromMichigan (1922–1936). Prior to entering politics he served as vice president and general manager of theFord Motor Company.
Couzens was born inChatham, Ontario, Canada in 1872, the son of soapmaker James and Emma Clift Couzens.[3] He attended the public schools of Chatham and spent time at a business college.[3][4] He moved toDetroit,Michigan in 1890 and worked as a railroad car checker for theNew York Central Railroad from 1890 to 1897.[4] Couzens' diligence at the railroad was noticed byAlexander Y. Malcomson, who hired the young man as a clerk in his coal business.[3] Couzens worked for Malcomson from 1897 to 1903.[4]
In 1898, Couzens married Margaret Manning.[3] The couple had six children: a son born in 1899 who died in infancy; Homer Couzens, born in 1900;Frank Couzens (later mayor of Detroit),[5] born in 1902; Madeline, born in 1904; Margo, born in 1910, and Edith, born in 1911.[3]
In 1902,Henry Ford was organizing theFord Motor Company; Alexander Malcomson was a major stakeholder in the company.[3] The two were seeking additional stockholders; Couzens borrowed heavily and invested $2,500 in the new firm.[3] Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 withJohn S. Gray as president, Ford as vice-president, Malcomson as treasurer, and Couzens as secretary.[3] Couzens took over the business management of the new firm for an annual salary of $2,400.[3] In 1906, Gray died and Malcomson was eased out of the business, and Couzens became vice president and general manager of the company.[3] The company made both Ford and Couzens wealthy, due in no small part to Couzens's business acumen.[3] However, the two men gradually grew apart, and in 1915 Couzens resigned his position as general manager, although he retained a seat on the board.[3] In 1919, Ford purchased Couzens's shares in the company for $30,000,000.[3]
He was inducted into theAutomotive Hall of Fame in 2012.[6]
James Couzens was president of the Bank of Detroit and director of the Detroit Trust Company.[4] He was commissioner of street railways 1913-1915 and commissioner of the metropolitan police department 1916–1918.[4] He wasmayor of Detroit 1919–1922.[4] As mayor, Couzens installed municipal street railways.
Couzens was appointed November 29, 1922, as aRepublican to theUnited States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofTruman H. Newberry.[4] This appointment was confirmed by his specialelection on November 4, 1924 to serve the remainder of Newberry's term, at which time he was alsoelected to a full term commencing March 4, 1925. He wasreelected in 1930, serving in total from November 29, 1922, until his death on October 22, 1936.[4] He was an unsuccessful candidate forrenomination in 1936, the loss generally attributed to Couzens's support forRoosevelt'sNew Deal programs.[3] He was chairman of theU.S. Senate Committee on Civil Service in theSixty-ninth Congress, theU.S. Senate Committee on Education and Labor in theSixty-ninth andSeventieth Congresses, theU.S. Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce in theSeventy-first andSeventy-second Congresses.[4] Couzens' actions in Congress generally followed those of theProgressive Republicans, advocating acts such as high graduatedincome tax and public ownership of utilities.
Couzens died in Detroit and is interred inWoodlawn Cemetery there.[4]
Couzens established the Children's Fund of Michigan with a $10,000,000 grant. He also gave $1,000,000 for relief in Detroit and began a fund to make loans to the physically handicapped. Under Dr Frank Norton, Dr Kenneth Richard Gibson and their secretary, Kathryn Hutchison, the Children's Fund, among other things, provided free health and dental work for indigent Detroit children. The Fund was set up with a 25-year life span, and the project ended in the mid-1950s.[citation needed]
In response to theBath School Disaster, in whichAndrew Kehoe, an embittered school board member and treasurer, killed 38 children by blowing up explosives he had planted in the basement of the Bath Consolidated School inBath Township, Michigan, Couzens gave $75,000 to fund rebuilding. The new school was dedicated as the "James Couzens Agricultural School".
He donated $600,000 to theUniversity of Michigan for the building of a residence hall for female nursing students, near the University hospital and medical campus. It was named Couzens Hall in his honor. He also donated money to build a nurses’ home at the Farrand Training School in Detroit, a nurses’ training school associated withHarper Hospital.[7] The building was completed in 1922, and at his request, the Board of Trustees named the new homeMcLaughlin Hall in honor of Emily A. McLaughlin, Principal of the Farrand Training School.[8]
In the 1930s, Couzens donated $1 million toChildren's Hospital of Michigan, in response to a birthday request from his wife for "a simple box in which to keep my pearls". Couzens complied, including a note within the box describing the $1 million gift, stating "My dear, your new pearls will be all the children who are eventually treated there". Today, Children's Hospital of Michigan is part of theDetroit Medical Center.
Disturbed by the failures of low-income housing projects that came out ofthe depression, he funded an alternative. He contributed $550,000 of his own personal money, combined with $300,000 from Oakland Housing, to create a managed low-income housing project called Westacres, inWest Bloomfield, Michigan. The project gave the low-income factory working man a chance to own a home. The homes were located on 1 acre of land and the owners were required to farm the land to provide food for their families when seasonal layoffs took place.
Asked how to say his name, he toldThe Literary Digest: "Pronounced exactly ascousins."[9]
On November 9, 1937, just over a year after his death, the Detroit City Council led by MayorFrank Couzens—James Couzens' son—voted to rename the portion of Northwestern Highway in Detroit, which then began at Wyoming Avenue and continued intoOakland County, after James Couzens. (The segment of Northwestern Highway in Oakland County was not renamed, however.) When theJohn C. Lodge Freeway was extended from its terminus at Wyoming Avenue northwesterly along the route of James Couzens Highway–Northwestern Highway in the 1960s, the Lodge name was extended along the new freeway segment, while the freeway's service drives between Wyoming Avenue andEight Mile Road (M-102) retained the James Couzens name.[7][10]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromMichigan (Class 2) 1924,1930 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Mayor of Detroit 1919–1922 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | United States Senator (Class 2) from Michigan 1922–1936 | Succeeded by |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by | Cover of Time Magazine 16 July 1923 | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 2 | ||
| Commerce and Manufactures (1816–1825) | | |
|---|---|---|
| Commerce (1825–1947) | ||
| Interstate Commerce (1887–1947) | ||
| Interstate and Foreign Commerce/Commerce (1947–1977) | ||
| Commerce, Science, and Transportation (1977–present) | ||
| Education/Education and Labor (1869–1947) | | |
|---|---|---|
| Labor and Public Welfare (1947–1977) | ||
| Labor and Human Resources (1977–1999) | ||
| Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (1999–present) | ||
| Post Office and Post Roads (1816–1947) | | |
|---|---|---|
| Civil Service and Retrenchment (1873–1921) | ||
| Civil Service (1921–1947) | ||
| Post Office and Civil Service (1947–1977) | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
