Josephus Daniels (May 18, 1862 – January 15, 1948) was an American Democratic politician and newspaper publisher from North Carolina, who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1913 to 1921 and as the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico from 1933 to 1941. During his term as Secretary of the Navy, Daniels implemented policies designed to bring more equality to the U.S. Navy. This was in sharp contrast to the White Supremacist views he espoused in his newspapers. His father, a ship builder for the Confederacy, was murdered by C.S. troops when he was a child.