Josephus Daniels - (1862-1948)
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I. Upbringing, Education, Family, and Professional Life
"Defeat never comes to any man until he admits it." Josephus Daniels, born on May 18, 1862 in Washington, North Carolina, was hardly what one
would consider inactive. He was vocal in the government as well as in homes of many Americans. At the time of Daniels' birth, the Civil
War was in full fury. Daniels' father, whose name was Daniels also, was a shipbuilder for the Confederacy. Unfortunately, his father was killed before he turned three years old.
Mary Daniels, Daniels' mother, began a small dressmaking company in order to keep the family alive. Daniels also had two brothers. They also aided their mother with the family.
Daniels and his family packed up their belongings and moved to Wilson, North Carolina. Upon arriving in Wilson, all three Daniels boys obtained jobs to help their mother. Daniels
did several odd jobs, which included picking cotton and being a drugstore clerk. Eventually, he acquired his dream job in a printing office that sparked the beginning of a
life long career of journalism. At age sixteen, Daniels started the newspaper, The Cornucopia, along with his brother Charles. During this same time, Daniels became the editor of Our Free Blade
. Two years later, he bought out the Advance. He used this paper to convey political views and issues. This would mark the beginning of what seemed like a never-ending line of newspaper productions.
Several years later, in 1885, Daniels began study at Wilson Collegiate Institute. Following graduation, he entered law school at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill,
although he would never in his life practice law. On May 2, 1888, Daniels married Addie Worth Bagley. Together they had four sons: Josephus, Worth Bagley, Jonathan Worth, and Frank A. III.
Josephus Daniels most prominent journalistic accomplishment was that of The News and Observer, which remains in circulation today. While serving in the United States Department of Interior, he bought
The News and Observer and collaborated in with the two papers he currently owned (State Chronicle and North Carolinian). The News and Observer
was incredibly popular and flourished throughout the state. He used the paper, mainly, to voice Democratic views and to aid the party itself. The News and Observer
became the first newspaper in history where there were more subscribers than occupants of the city in which it was centered.
Daniels was not unfamiliar to controversy. "Dullness is the only crime for which an editor ought to be hung," Daniels said, and things were far from dull at The News and Observer
office. William Randolph Hearst offered Daniels one million dollars for The News and Observer. Daniels, of course, turned down this offer. He continued on with his political
standpoints, his coverage of the United States in the Philippines, and his attacks on the Southern Railroad companies who tried to control the government. Outraged the Southern Railroad Companies gave The News and Observer
the nickname, "Nuisance and Disturber." The railroad companies even tried to start a newspaper whose sole intention was to put The News and Observer out of business.
Josephus Daniels, the Democrat, used The News and Observer to help get Woodrow Wilson into office in 1912. In thanks for Daniels' support, he was appointed Secretary of
Navy. He served this position from 1913 1921, through the years of World War I. He appointed a young Franklin Delano Roosevelt as his Assistant of the Secretary of Navy.
While serving as Secretary of Navy, Daniels was responsible for getting rid of all beer and wine on naval ships. It is to Josephus Daniels that we can accredit the phrase, "Cup of
Joe." It is believed sailors developed this saying when they began to drink coffee as opposed to the beer and wine they used to drink. In the year 1832, Daniels was strongly urged to run for governor of North Carolina. He
decided to help friend and former assistant Franklin Delano Roosevelt run for President, rather than run for office himself. Successful in his pursuit, Roosevelt was elected. As his
reward, Daniels became Ambassador to Mexico, a job at which he served from 1933 to 1941. During this time frame, he improved relations and avoided and tension with Mexico. He
resigned in 1941, due to his wife's illness and returned home to North Carolina. Upon his return, Daniels would take care of his wife for the next couple of years. In 1943,
Addie Worth Bagley passed away. After his death in 1944, the S.S. Addie Daniels was christened in her memory. Daniels returned then to The News and Observer, where he
would work until his death on January 15, 1948. II. Important Literary Works The News and Observer: Purchased by Daniels in 1895, was his biggest achievement and
it still exists today. He used it, when he was alive, to voice his political viewpoints and support his fellow Democrats, including former Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin
Delano Roosevelt. William Randolph Hearst offered to buy the paper for one million dollars, but Daniels cordially declined. He worked on the paper until his death in 1948.
Today, it still reigns as the primary paper in Raleigh, North Carolina. III. Important Literary Works The Cornucopia newspaper 1878 IV. Audio Sample
The Free Blade newspaper 1878
The Advance newspaper 1880
The Free Press newspaper 1882
The State Chronicle newspaper 1885
The Farmer and Mechanic newspaper 1885
The News and Observer newspaper 1895
Life of Worth Bagley book 1898
Our Navy at War book 1922
Life of Woodrow Wilson book 1924
In Politics editor 1940
The Wilson Era - editor 1944
V. Josephus Daniels on the Web/ Sourceshttp://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/nc/bio/ncbiz/daniels.htm
http://www.britannica.com/seo/j/josephus-daniels/
http://www.fwkc.com/encyclopedia/low/articles/d/d006000117f.html
http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/d/Daniels,Josephus.html
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAdanielsJ.htm
This essay was submitted by a student of Rita Achenbach, a teacher at Fuquay Varina High School in Fuquay Varnia, North Carolina.