John W. Davis

John W. Davis
source
Name	John W. Davis
Caption	Davis c. 1915
Office	United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom
President	Woodrow Wilson
Term start	1918
Term end	1921
Predecessor	Walter Hines Page
Successor	George Harvey
Office1	Solicitor General of the United States
President1	Woodrow Wilson
Term start1	1913
Term end1	1918
Predecessor1	William Marshall Bullitt
Successor1	Alexander C. King
Office2	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, from West Virginia's 1st district
Term start2	1911
Term end2	1913
Predecessor2	William P. Hubbard
Successor2	Matthew M. Neely
Party	Democratic
Alma mater	Washington and Lee University (BA, LLB)
Birth date	13 April 1873
Birth place	Clarksburg, West Virginia, U.S.
Death date	24 March 1955
Death place	Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Spouse	Julia T. McDonald, 1899, 1900, Ellen G. Bassel, 1912, 1943
Profession	Lawyer, politician, diplomat

John W. Davis was a prominent American lawyer, Democratic politician, and diplomat who served as Solicitor General of the United States and United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. He is best remembered as the Democratic nominee in the 1924 presidential election, losing decisively to incumbent Republican Calvin Coolidge. Davis later established a legendary career in private practice, arguing more cases before the Supreme Court of the United States than any other 20th-century lawyer, including his famous defense of racial segregation in Brown v. Board of Education.

Early life and education

John William Davis was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia, to Anna Kennedy and John James Davis, a former Congressman and lawyer. He attended local schools before enrolling at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Davis graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1892 and remained to study law at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, earning his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1895. He was deeply influenced by his father's legal career and the political culture of West Virginia during the Post-Reconstruction Era.

Legal and political career

Admitted to the West Virginia bar in 1895, Davis practiced law in Clarksburg and served as the city's attorney. His political career began with his election as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia's 1st congressional district in 1910, serving one term from 1911 to 1913. President Woodrow Wilson appointed him Solicitor General of the United States in 1913, a role in which he successfully defended major Wilsonian initiatives like the Federal Reserve Act before the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1918, Wilson named him United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, where he served until 1921, dealing with the complex aftermath of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles.

1924 presidential campaign

The 1924 Democratic National Convention in New York City became one of the longest and most contentious in party history, deadlocked between rivals William Gibbs McAdoo and Al Smith. After 103 ballots, the exhausted convention turned to Davis as a compromise candidate. His conservative, pro-business platform, however, failed to energize the party's base or unify its fractured urban and rural wings. In the general election, Davis was soundly defeated by Republican incumbent Calvin Coolidge, who capitalized on national prosperity, and even finished behind the third-party campaign of Robert M. La Follette of the Progressive Party in the popular vote.

Later legal career and Supreme Court advocacy

Following his presidential defeat, Davis joined the prestigious New York City law firm now known as Davis Polk & Wardwell, where he built a preeminent appellate practice. He became the most frequent advocate before the Supreme Court of the United States in the first half of the 20th century, arguing 140 cases. His clients included major corporations like J.P. Morgan & Co. and the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa). His most famous, and ultimately unsuccessful, case was his 1952-53 defense of racial segregation as lead counsel for the appellees in Brown v. Board of Education, opposing Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Personal life and death

Davis married Julia T. McDonald in 1899; she died the following year. In 1912, he married Ellen G. Bassel, with whom he had a daughter, Julia Davis Adams, who became a noted author. Davis was a lifelong Episcopalian and a member of numerous professional and social organizations, including the American Bar Association and the American Philosophical Society. He died of bronchitis on March 24, 1955, in Charleston, South Carolina, and was interred in Locust Valley Cemetery in Locust Valley, New York.

Category:1873 births Category:1955 deaths Category:American diplomats Category:Democratic Party presidential nominees Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia Category:Solicitors General of the United States Category:Washington and Lee University alumni