John W. Davis Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

April 13, 1873: Attorney and Presidential Candidate John W. Davis Born in Clarksburg

Attorney and presidential candidate John W. Davis was born in Clarksburg on April 13, 1873. The Democrat launched his political career in the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1899, and was elected to Congress in 1911. He resigned shortly into his second term to become U.S. solicitor general and later served as President Woodrow Wilson’s ambassador to England.

In 1924, Democrats nominated Davis for president on their convention’s 103^rd ballot. But, in the general election, he was trounced by President Calvin Coolidge in a Republican landslide. Not only did Davis lose his home state of West Virginia, he failed to carry even his native Clarksburg. However, he remains the only West Virginian ever nominated as a presidential candidate by a major party.

Davis managed a white-shoe law practice in New York until his death in 1955 at age 81. He argued 141 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court but is best remembered for his last one. In 1952, he fought to continue racial segregation in South Carolina. This was one of four cases that were rolled into the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case.

July 23, 1900: Author Julia Davis Born in Clarksburg

On July 23, 1900, author Julia Davis was born in Clarksburg, the daughter of distinguished lawyer and statesman John W. Davis. She began her literary career writing books for young readers.

Her first, The Swords of the Vikings, was followed by a biography of “Stonewall” Jackson and a narrative of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Davis also found success with adult fiction, historical and biographical writings, and drama—more than two dozen books in all—including the Shenandoah volume for the landmark Rivers of America series.

Davis took care of numerous stepchildren and other children who needed homes. She was also active with charitable organizations in New York. Her 1942 book The Sun Climbs Slow is based on her experiences with two Spanish children who came to stay with her following upheavals during the Spanish Civil War. After the death of her husband in 1986, Julia Davis lived and wrote in Jefferson County, near Media Farm, the scene of the happy childhood summers described in her book Legacy of Love.

Julia Davis died in Charles Town in 1993 at age 92.

July 12, 1980: Educator John W. Davis Dies in New Jersey

Educator John Warren Davis died in New Jersey on July 12, 1980, at age 92. The Georgia native moved to Kanawha County in 1919 to become president of what was then called West Virginia Collegiate Institute.

He quickly bolstered the school’s faculty and curriculum, making it one of the first four black colleges in the United States—and the first public college in West Virginia—to be accredited. In 1929, it became West Virginia State College—and is now a University.

Under Davis’s leadership, West Virginia State College was one of the nation’s leading black colleges. The college developed the Washington-Carver black 4-H camp in Fayette County, established a field artillery ROTC program, and trained black pilots, several of whom became Tuskegee Airmen in World War II.

Davis stepped down from West Virginia State in 1951, after 32 years at the helm. In 1954, he joined the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where he worked with Thurgood Marshall on lawsuits related to desegregation and other civil rights. In later years, John W. Davis was one of the nation’s leading spokesmen for black higher education.

March 17, 1891: State Legislature Establishes the West Virginia Colored Institute

On March 17, 1891, the West Virginia Legislature established the West Virginia Colored Institute eight miles west of Charleston. It was one of the nation’s original 17 black land-grant colleges.The school’s initial purpose was to teach trades, but the academic and teacher education programs quickly grew popular. Under the leadership of John W. Davis, the school became one of the country’s most-respected black colleges. Davis was able to recruit some of the nation’s best educators, including Carter G. Woodson. Other faculty members were nationally known artists, musicians, and scientists. In 1927, the school became regionally accredited—the first of the original black land-grant colleges to achieve this status. Two years later, the school’s name was changed to West Virginia State College.

By mid-century, State was facing declining enrollment. In response, President William J. L. Wallace established evening programs to recruit adults and opened the school’s doors to white students. Soon, the number of white students far outnumbered black students, making State a national model for racial integration.

The campus and enrollment expanded significantly in the late 20^th century. And, in 2004, West Virginia State achieved university status.

Izetta Jewell Kenny Born: November 24, 1883

Izetta Jewell Kenny was born in New Jersey on November 24, 1883. In 1914, she moved to West Virginia with her husband, William Gay Brown, a congressman from Kingwood.

In 1920—the year women got the right to vote nationally—Brown attended the National Democratic Convention. She seconded the presidential nomination of West Virginia’s John W. Davis, a first for a woman in U.S. history.

In 1922, she became the first woman south of the Mason-Dixon Line to run for the U.S. Senate. She lost the Democratic nomination to Matthew Neely by only 6,000 votes. Two years later, she lost the Senate nomination to William Chilton in another close race.

In 1925, she married Hugh Miller and moved away from the Mountain State. Izetta Jewell Brown Miller died in California in 1978 at the age of 94.

John W. Davis: W.Va.'s Only Presidential Candidate Accepts Nomination 90 Years Ago

On Monday, August 11, 1924, Clarksburg native John W. Davis returned to his hometown to accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. He still holds a place in state history as the only West Virginia to ever receive a major party’s nomination for the position.

John W. Davis giving his acceptance speech in Clarksburg, W.Va.

After a day of meetings, parades and celebrations, Davis took the stage in the Clarksburg neighborhood of Goff Plaza. With a major storm rolling in, he stood under and umbrella and accepted the nomination amid the sound of thunder and fireworks, set off prematurely.

“Davis never even flinched,” said Rod Rogers, former aide and speechwriter for Gov. Arch Moore who has studied, spoken and written about Davis’ life for years.

Davis had a long career in politics behind him. He was first elected to Congress in 1910, a position Rogers said he didn’t campaign for, but was nominated to do and easily won.

“Davis during his entire career didn’t believe that a man should seek the office, but that the office should seek the man which is contrary to the beliefs today in the political system.”

After years in Congress, Davis was appointed Solicitor General and argued more cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court than any attorney in history. He returned to private practice for a time, then was appointed Ambassador to England before returning to the United States and receiving his nomination.

The speech in Clarksburg is significant for many reasons, Rogers noted, the most remarkable of which was that the speech was the first ever broadcast live on the radio. Technicians from KDKA radio in Pittsburgh traveled to Clarksburg and set up their equipment in a field full of tens of thousands of people.

Just a few days later, the same KDKA crew traveled to Washington to broadcast the acceptance speech of then-President Calvin Coolidge.

Rogers has collected more than 4,500 pieces of memorabilia since the late 1980s, including campaign signs and buttons. He said he collects the material and shares Davis’s story because he wants West Virginians to remember their history and recognize the importance of what the state has meant to the country.