Jacob Dolson Cox

Jacob Dolson Cox, was a lawyer, a Union Army general during the American Civil War, and later a Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the 28th Governor of Ohio and as United States Secretary of the Interior. As Governor of Ohio, Cox sided with President Andrew Johnsons Reconstruction plan and was against African American suffrage. Due to his support of Johnsons reconstruction policy, Cox was not reelected Governor, and for a year remained out of politics. Both Sherman and Grant advocated that Cox be Secretary of War but Johnson declined. When Ulysses S. Grant became President he nominated Cox Secretary of Interior and Cox immediately accepted. Secretary of Interior Cox implemented civil service reform into the Department of Interior. Grant initially supported Cox and civil service reform creating Americas first Civil Service Commission. However, Cox was opposed by Republican Party managers. President Grant and Secretary Cox were at odds over the fraudulent McGarahan Claims an

Cox was born in Montreal, Canada. His father and mother respectively were Jacob Dolson Cox and Thedia Redelia Kenyon Cox, both Americans. The elder Jacob, of Dutch descent, was a New York building contractor and superintended the roof construction of the Church of Notre Dame. Cox returned with his parents to New York City a year later. His early education included private readings with a Columbia College student. His family suffered a financial setback during the Panic of 1837, and Cox was unable to afford a college education and obtain a law degree. New York State law mandated that an alternative to college would be to work as an apprentice in legal firm for seven years before entering the bar. In 1842, Cox entered into an apprenticeship for a legal firm and worked for two years. Having changed his mind on becoming a lawyer, Cox worked as bookkeeper in a brokerage firm and studied mathematics and classical languages in his off hours. In 1846 he enrolled at Oberlin College in the prepa

Source: Wikipedia