E. Eugene Cox
Edward Eugene "Eugene" or "Goober" Cox (April 3, 1880 – December 24, 1952) served as a U.S. representative from Georgia for nearly 28 years. A conservative Democrat who supported racial segregation and opposed President Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal," Cox became the most senior Democrat on the House Committee on Rules.
E. Eugene Cox | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 2nd district | |
| In office March 4, 1925 – December 24, 1952 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Park |
| Succeeded by | J. L. Pilcher |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward Eugene Cox April 3, 1880 near Camilla, Georgia |
| Died | December 24, 1952 (aged 72) Bethesda, Maryland |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Mercer University |
| Occupation | lawyer |
Two special investigative committees that he chaired were heavily criticized as result-oriented persecutions of those disliked by Cox. A failed attempt to create another such committee would turn out to have far-reaching consequences. In 1941, with American entry into World War II seeming inevitable, Cox proposed an investigative committee, similar to the Civil War-era Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, to deal with matters of national defense. When Roosevelt learned of Cox's intentions, he pre-empted them by agreeing to a similar proposal from Missouri Senator Harry Truman. The Truman Committee would come to be seen as a significant asset to the war effort, and its chairman, then a little-known backbencher, would become Roosevelt's Vice President and, after his death in 1945, US President.