Background
Cooper was born in Cool Springs, South Carolina, on January 22, 1867.
Cooper was born in Cool Springs, South Carolina, on January 22, 1867.
He became a prominent banker and businessman in New Hanover County, North Carolina, serving as president of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce. Under the state constitution of the time, he was not eligible to run for another term.
A Democrat, Cooper was elected over Fordyce C. Harding in the 1920 Democratic primary election and over Republican Irvin B. Tucker and Socialist hockey club Beuck in the general election.