Jacob Dolson Cox

Jacob Dolson Cox, (Jr.) (October 27, 1828 – August 4, 1900) was a statesman, lawyer, Union Army general during the American Civil War, Republican politician from Ohio, Liberal Republican Party founder, author, and recognized microbiologist. He served as the 28th Governor of Ohio and as United States Secretary of the Interior. As Governor of Ohio, Cox sided for a time with President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction plan and was against African American suffrage in the South, though he supported it in Ohio. Seeing himself caught between Johnson and the Radical Republicans, Cox decided not to run for reelection. He stayed out of politics for a year, though both Sherman and Grant advocated that Cox replace Stanton as Secretary of War as a means of stemming the demands for Johnson's impeachment. But Johnson declined. When Ulysses S. Grant became president, he nominated Cox Secretary of Interior and Cox immediately accepted. Secretary of Interior Cox implemented the first civil service reform in a federal government department, including examinations for most clerks. Grant initially supported Cox and civil service reform, creating America's first Civil Service Commission. However, Cox was opposed by Republican Party managers, who ultimately convinced Grant to cease civil service reforms in the Interior, a large department coveted for its vast Congressional patronage. President Grant and Secretary Cox were at odds over the fraudulent McGarahan Claims and the Dominican Republic annexation treaty. Secretary Cox advocated a lasting, honest, and comprehensive Indian policy legislated by Congress after the Piegan Indian massacre. Cox resigned as Secretary of Interior having been unable to gain Grant's support over civil service reform. Although Cox was a reformer, Grant had believed Cox had overstepped his authority as Secretary of Interior, and had undermined his authority as President. In 1871 Cox founded the Liberal Republicans in opposition to Grant's renomination. In 1876,