Joseph M. Dixon | |
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| 7thGovernor of Montana | |
| In office January 3, 1921 – January 4, 1925 | |
| Lieutenant | Nelson Story Jr. |
| Preceded by | Sam V. Stewart |
| Succeeded by | John E. Erickson |
| United States Senator fromMontana | |
| In office March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1913 | |
| Preceded by | William A. Clark |
| Succeeded by | Thomas J. Walsh |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMontana'sat-large district | |
| In office March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1907 | |
| Preceded by | Caldwell Edwards |
| Succeeded by | Charles N. Pray |
| Member of theMontana House of Representatives | |
| In office 1900–1902 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Moore Dixon (1867-07-31)July 31, 1867 |
| Died | May 22, 1934(1934-05-22) (aged 66) |
| Resting place | Missoula Cemetery |
| Party | Republican |
Joseph Moore Dixon (July 31, 1867 – May 22, 1934) was an AmericanRepublican politician fromMontana. He served as aU.S. representative,senator, and theseventh governor of Montana. A businessman and a modernizer of Quaker heritage, Dixon was a leader of theProgressive Movement in Montana and nationally. He was the national chairman forTheodore Roosevelt running for the presidency as the candidate of theProgressive Party in 1912.
Dixon was born inSnow Camp, North Carolina, to a Quaker family, the son of Flora Adaline (Murchison) and Hugh W. Dixon.[1] His father operated a farm and a small factory. Dixon attended Quaker colleges,Earlham College in Indiana andGuilford College inNorth Carolina, graduating in 1889.[2] He excelled at history, debate and oratory. Dixon moved to the frontier town ofMissoula, Montana, in 1891, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1892. Although he left the Quaker faith, he never abandoned Quaker ideals.
Dixon served as assistant prosecuting attorney ofMissoula County from 1893 to 1895 and prosecuting attorney from 1895 to 1897. In 1900, he served in theMontana House of Representatives.[3] He married Caroline M. Worden, daughter of prominent Missoula businessmanFrancis Lyman Worden, in 1896. They had seven children: Virginia, Florence, Dorothy, Betty, Mary Joe, Peggy, and Frank. Frank died shortly after birth.[4] Dixon grew wealthy through his law practice and his investments in real estate; to further his political ambitions in 1900 he bought a Missoula newspaper, theMissoulian.
Dixon took advantage of the internal dissension among rival factions of the Democratic party to rise rapidly in politics.
In 1902 and 1904 he won congressional races, and in 1907 the Montana legislature chose him for a U.S. Senate seat.[5] He became an ardent admirer of PresidentTheodore Roosevelt, and joined the progressive wing of the party, fighting the conservatives. He unsuccessfully ran for reelection in 1912, but that year, he was the campaign manager for Roosevelt and chaired the National Progressive Convention that nominated Roosevelt on the third-partyProgressive Party ("Bull Moose") ticket as the GOP split between progressives and stand-patters. DemocratWoodrow Wilson won in a landslide.
Out of office, Dixon returned to Montana to look after his newspaper properties, and to battle theAmalgamated Copper Company, the behemoth that dominated both political parties through its corrupt spending. He returned to the Republican Party. He finally sold his newspapers, and they were taken over by Amalgamated.
In1920, Dixon ran forGovernor of Montana, and, following farmer unrest that weakened the copper company, Dixon was carried by the national Republican landslide into office as governor, defeatingDemocratic nomineeBurton K. Wheeler comfortably.[6]
His term as governor ran from 1921 to 1925 and was marked by severe economic hardship in the state that limited the opportunities for action by the state government. In addition, businesses such asAnaconda Copper mobilized their resources to defeat the governor’s plans for reform. He was defeated for reelection in1924 byJohn E. Erickson and for the Senate in1928, losing to his one-time foe, Wheeler, in the general election.[7]
In 1929 he was appointed First AssistantSecretary of the Interior, and served in that position until 1933.[8]
In 1930, he was involved with a project to develop water power on theFlathead Indian Reservation, and with it, a complex network of water rights for the Reservation.
He died in Missoula, Montana, on May 22, 1934, due to heart problems. He is interred at theMissoula Cemetery in Missoula, Montana.[9]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Frank J. Edwards | Republican nominee forGovernor of Montana 1920,1924 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromMontana (Class 1) 1928 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMontana's at-large congressional district 1903–1907 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator from Montana 1907–1913 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Montana 1921-1925 | Succeeded by |
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| Oneat-large seat (1889–1913) |
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| Two at-large seats (1913–1919) |
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| Districts (1919–1993) |
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| One at-large seat (1993–2023) |
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| Districts (2023–present) |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
