James Hubert Price

James Hubert Price ( born September 7, 1878 Greenbrier County, West Virginia, † November 22, 1943 in Richmond, Virginia ) was an American politician and from 1938 to 1942 Governor of Virginia.

Early years and political rise

Even in his childhood came Price with his parents to Staunton. There he attended the Dunsmore Business College, where he then taught himself as a teacher for some time. After studying law at Washington and Lee University and qualifying as a lawyer in Richmond, Price began to work in his new profession.

Price joined the Democratic Party. He was elected to the Board in Virginia and spent three years as chairman of the party in that State. During the First World War he served as a legal adviser to the defense acquisition authority of the city of Richmond. From 1916 to 1928 he sat in the House of Representatives from Virginia; 1930-1938 he served as Deputy Governor Deputy Governors John Garland Pollard and George C. Peery.

Governor of Virginia

In 1938 he was elected with the help of the influential U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd for governor of his state, where he prevailed with 82.8 percent of the vote against Republican J. Powell Royall. Price took up his new post on 18 January 1938. In his four-year tenure, the merit principle in public service was introduced in Virginia. In addition, adopted for the first time at the state level social security laws in Virginia. This followed the pattern of legislation passed by the Federal Government under the New Deal program. The governor also strove for the urban development in his state and supported the full integration of African Americans in the armed forces. The last few weeks of his reign, which ended on January 21, 1942, were shaped by the events of the Second World War, in which the United States since December 7, 1941, the day of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, took part.

Further CV

After the end of his governorship was President of the Central Price National Bank of Richmond and the Jefferson Reality Company. He was a leading member of the Masonic movement in Virginia and curator of a hospital for disabled children. James Price died in November 1943. Together with his wife Lillian Martin he had two children.