James Curran Davis (May 17, 1895 – December 18, 1981) was an American politician from the state of Georgia serving in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1947 to 1963. Davis unsuccessfully sought the presidential nomination at the

1956 Democratic National Convention The 1956 Democratic National Convention nominated former Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois for president and Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee for vice president. It was held in the International Amphitheatre on the South Side of Chicag ...

Early life

Davis was born on May 17, 1895, in Franklin, Georgia to Viola (née Mooty) and Thomas Benjamin Davis. He attended

Reinhardt College Reinhardt University is a private university in Waleska, Georgia. The university has an off-campus center in Alpharetta and offers some programs in Cartersville, Marietta, and Canton, and online. Reinhardt is affiliated with the United Methodi ...

in Waleska, Georgia and Emory College in Oxford, Georgia. He was admitted to the bar in 1919 and started a practice in Atlanta.

Career

During World War I, Davis served in the United States Marine Corps as a private and sergeant from December 24, 1917, to January 11, 1919. He then served in the Judge Advocate General's Corps as a first lieutenant and captain. He resumed practicing law after his military service. He served as a

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama * DeKalb County, Georgia * DeKalb County, Illinois * DeKalb County, Indiana * DeKalb County, Missouri ...

from 1924 to 1928. He then served as an attorney for the Georgia Department of Industrial Relations from 1928 to 1931 and DeKalb County from 1931 to 1934. He served as a judge of superior court in the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit from 1934 to 1937. Davis was a delegate to the

1948 Democratic National Convention The 1948 Democratic National Convention was held at Philadelphia Convention Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 12 to July 14, 1948, and resulted in the nominations of President Harry S. Truman for a full term and Senator Alben W. Ba ...

. He was elected to represent

Georgia's 5th congressional district Georgia's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The district was represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat John Lewis from January 3, 1987 until his death on J ...

in the House of Representatives as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. Davis served in Congress from January 3, 1947, to January 3, 1963. Davis was a signatory to the 1956

Southern Manifesto The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...

, a document expressing the opposition of Southern congressional representatives to integration. At the

in August, he received 33 votes for President. His nomination speech was given at the convention by Governor

Marvin Griffin Samuel Marvin Griffin, Sr. (September 4, 1907 – June 13, 1982) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. A lifelong Democrat, Griffin was a native of Bainbridge, Georgia and publisher of the ''Bainbridge Post-Searchligh ...

. He voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Later career

Davis was defeated in his bid for re-election to Congress in 1962 by

Charles L. Weltner Charles Longstreet Weltner (December 17, 1927 – August 31, 1992) was an American jurist and politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. Early years and education Weltner was born in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1948, he received a bachelor's degre ...

. He then resumed practicing law. He was the publisher for the Atlanta Times, a conservative newspaper led by Roscoe Pickett, from June 1964 to its closing in September 1965. He also served on the board of directors for the Salem Campground and De Kalb Federal Savings and Loan Association.

Personal life

Davis married Mary Lou Martin on December 26, 1932, in LaGrange, Georgia. She died in 1969. Together, they had one daughter, Mary Martin Davis. He was a member of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

Death

Davis died in Atlanta on December 18, 1981. He is interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in

Newnan Newnan is a city in Metro Atlanta and the county seat of Coweta County, Georgia, about southwest of Atlanta. Its population was 42,549 at the 2020 census, up from 33,039 in 2010. History Newnan was established as county seat of Coweta Coun ...

References

External links

James C. Davis papers (Emory University)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, James C. 1895 births 1981 deaths Reinhardt University alumni Emory College alumni Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Candidates in the 1956 United States presidential election 20th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges 20th-century American judges Ku Klux Klan members