James Renshaw Cox | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 7, 1886 |
| Died | March 20, 1951(1951-03-20) (aged 65) |
| Resting place | Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Father Cox |
| Education | Duquesne University,St. Vincent Seminary,University of Pittsburgh |
| Occupation | Catholic priest |
| Employer | Diocese of Pittsburgh |
| Known for | Cox's Army |
| Relatives | Captain John Cox |
James Renshaw Cox (1886–1951) was an AmericanRoman Catholicpriest ofPittsburgh,Pennsylvania, known for his pro-labor activism. He was a candidate forPresident of the United States in 1932, and also an organizer of a massive protest march onWashington, DC.
Cox was born in 1886 in theLawrenceville neighborhood ofPittsburgh, growing up in an unparalleled period of industrial expansion. He began as a cab driver and steelworker, working his way throughDuquesne University. He next enteredSaint Vincent Seminary inLatrobe, Pennsylvania and was ordained in 1911. From 1917 to 1919, he served inWorld War I aschaplain at Base Hospital 27 at the Mongazon Seminary inAngers, France.
After the war, he enrolled in theUniversity of Pittsburgh, earning a master of economics degree, and he was appointed pastor in 1923 at OldSt. Patrick's Church in theStrip District. During theGreat Depression, he organized a food-relief program and helped the homeless and unemployed find shelter.
In January 1932, Cox led a march of 20,000 unemployed Pennsylvanians, dubbed "Cox's Army", on Washington, D.C, the largest demonstration to that date in the nation's capital.[1] He hoped the action would stir Congress to start a public works program and to increase theinheritance tax to 70%.[2] Even Pennsylvania'sRepublican governorGifford Pinchot backed Cox's march. Pinchot hoped Cox would back his own hopes to wrest away the Republican nomination for president away from Hoover. Cox had other plans.
Herbert Hoover was sufficiently embarrassed by the march that a full-scale investigation was launched against Cox. TheRepublican National Committee wanted to know how Cox was able to purchase enough gasoline to get the marchers to Washington, suggesting theVatican, or Democratic supporters ofAl Smith funded the operation. It turned out thatAndrew Mellon had quietly ordered hisGulf Oil gas stations to dispense free gas to the marchers. This proved to be the pretext for Hoover to remove Mellon from his post asSecretary of the Treasury.
The march sparked the formation of the Jobless Party. The Jobless Party supported government public works and labor unions, and spread from Pittsburgh to other major cities. James Cox became the Jobless Party's first presidential candidate.[3] Even Cox's bishop viewed his race as an effort to give substance to the encyclicals of PopesLeo XIII andPius XI. In September 1932, however, Cox pulled out of the election giving his support to theDemocratic Party ticket andFranklin Roosevelt. This effectively led to the demise of the Jobless Party.
After the presidential election of 1932, Cox continued his relief work and was a member of the Pennsylvania Commission for the Unemployed. In the mid-1930s, Roosevelt appointed him to the state recovery board of theNational Recovery Administration. James Cox became known as Pittsburgh's "Pastor of the Poor".[4] Cox was also a mentor toCharles Owen Rice, who would inherit his mantle as Pittsburgh's labor priest for the rest of the 20th century.
Cox died at age 65 in Pittsburgh on March 20, 1951; he is interred inCalvary Cemetery in the city'sHazelwood neighborhood.
The James R. Cox Collection is maintained in the Archives Service Center (ASC) at the University of Pittsburgh. The collection consists of Cox's recorded radio programs, over four hundred photographs taken between 1923 and 1930, newspaper clippings, sermons, and hymns. His diary and manuscripts are preserved covering the period from 1904 to 1936. Included with the diary and manuscripts are a travel film of the Holy Land, transcripts from an interview and various certificates.[5] Some of the photographs document his activities as a radio host with WJAS.[6][7] Other photos document his charitable food distributions.[8][9]
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