Philander knox biography

In 1901, President McKinley asked Knox to serve as his Attorney General. He remained in the position during the Administration of his successor, President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1904, Knox was appointed U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania to fill a vacancy and was later confirmed to fill the seat for the remainder of the term.

In 1908, Knox unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination. That same year, his former rival, President Taft, appointed him Secretary of State. In his position, he organized the State Department into regional divisions, extended the civil service system to to the Diplomatic Service, and focused on protecting U.S. investments overseas. His efforts to use trade to foster democracy and stability became known as “Dollar Diplomacy.”

In 1916, Knox was elected to the Senate and served until his death in 1921. He was a vocal critic of the Treaty of Versailles, saying “this Treaty does not spell peace but war — war more woeful and devastating than the one we have but now closed.”

Born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, in May 1953, Philander Knox had an extensive career in government. A graduate of Mount Union College, Knox served as assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania between 1876 and 1877. He filled the post of Attorney General in the cabinets of Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt from 1901 to 1904, following which he represented Pennsylvania in the Senate from 1904 to 1909. Knox attempted unsuccessfully to earn the Republican presidential nomination in 1908. He was the beneficiary of incoming President William Howard Taft's desire to get "the best men" for his cabinet, and thus became secretary of state upon the recommendation of outgoing secretary Elihu Root. Knox would once again fail to gain the Republican nomination for President in 1916, running successfully instead for a senate seat from Pennsylvania. Knox would die in office on October 12, 1921.