Henry John Bennett

His great, great grandfather Bennett migrated from Connecticut to Nova Scotia c. 1765, before the American Revolution, taking advantage of lands vacated by the Acadians during the Great Upheaval.
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Educated in the local school, Bennett was a good student, but something of a loner.In addition to his Protestant faith, Bennett grew up with an abiding love of the British Empire, then at its apogee.

Teacher, school principal, and lawyer

Bennett with his sister Mildred on whom he greatly relied as hostess

Bennett with his sister Mildred on whom he greatly relied as hostess

At the age of 15, Bennett had learned all the local school could teach him, and he enrolled in the New Brunswick Department of Education's teacher training school in Fredericton, getting his second class teaching certificate.He then taught the elementary grades at a small village called Irishtown, just north of Moncton, New Brunswick.He campaigned vigorously in the Conservative interest in the 1887 federal election, at 17 years of age taking the floor at public meetings in rural areas, well able to handle hecklers.He earned the gratitude of the local candidate, Dr. R.C.
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In 1888 Bennett obtained his first-class teaching certificate and received an appointment as principal of the 159 student Douglastown school.Though only 18 years old, Bennett was a success.He was 6' tall and his serious demeanour enabled him to control his pupils.Sundays were spent across the Miramichi River in the larger community of Chatham, New Brunswick, where he attended the Methodist Church twice and taught Sunday School.He also joined the Chatham branch of the Conservative party and spoke whenever he could.He became a polished speaker.During this time he formed several female friendships, but none blossomed into marriage.

One day, while Bennett was crossing the Miramichi on the ferry boat, a well dressed lad about nine years younger came over to him and struck up a conversation.
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The son, Harry, joined the E.B. Eddy Company, a large pulp and paper industrial concern, and was transferred to Halifax.His sister moved there to study nursing and soon Bennett joined them to study law at Dalhousie University.
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Bennett started at Dalhousie University in 1890, graduating in 1893 with a law degree.
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Bennett moved to Alberta in 1897.A lifelong bachelor and teetotaler, he led a rather lonely life in a hotel and later, in a boarding house.For a while a younger brother roomed with him.He ate his noon meal on workdays at the Alberta Hotel.Social life, such as it was, centered on church.There was, however, no scandal attached to his personal life.Bennett worked hard and gradually built up his legal practice.

R. B. Bennett etait nee sur le 3, juin 1870 quand sa mere, Henrietta Stiles, visitait ses parents a Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick, Canada. Il vivait a la maison de son pere, Henry John Bennett, a Hopewell Cape, une village de 1,800 personnes.
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En addition de son foi protestante, Bennett a grandi avec un amour durable de l'Empire britannique
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Dans 1888 Bennett a obtenu son certificat d'enseignement de première classe et a reçu un position comme un directeur de l'école de Douglastown. Seulement 18 ans, Bennett avait du succès. Il était 6 pied en grandeur et son comportement sérieux l'a rendu capable de contrôler ses élèves.
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Bennett started at Dalhousie University in 1890, graduating in 1893 with a law degree. He worked his way through with a job as assistant in the library, being recommended by Dr. R. C. Weldon.

He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in the 1898 general election representing the riding of West Calgary, he would be re-elected to a second term in office in 1902 Independent from the parties in the Northwest Territories legislature.

In 1905, when Alberta was carved out of the territories and made a province, Bennett became the first leader of the Alberta Conservative Party and, in 1909, won a seat in the provincial legislature before switching to federal politics.

Elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1911, Bennett returned to the provincial scene to again lead the Alberta Tories in the 1913 provincial election but kept his seat in Ottawa when his Tories failed to take power in the province. He was appointed Minister of Justice in 1921 shortly before the federal Tory government of Arthur Meighen was defeated. Bennett returned to government as Minister of Finance in 1926 and became Conservative leader in 1927 at the first Conservative leadership convention.

By defeating William Lyon Mackenzie King in the 1930 federal election, Bennett became the first Prime Minister of Canada to have been elected from a Calgary riding, a distinction he held until Stephen Harper's 2006 election. But he also had the misfortune of taking office during the worst depression of the century for the country and the rest of the world. Bennett tried to combat the depression by increasing trade within the British Empire and imposing tariffs for imports from outside the Empire, promising that his measures would blast Canadian exports into world markets. His success was limited however, and his own wealth and impersonal style alienated many struggling Canadians.

A nickname that would stick with Bennett for the remainder of his political career, "Iron Heel Bennett," came from a 1932 speech he gave in Toronto that ironically, if unintentionally, alluded to Jack London's socialist novel:

Reacting to fears of Communist subversion, Bennett invoked the controversial Section 98 of the Criminal Code of Canada. Enacted in the aftermath of the Winnipeg General Strike, Section 98 dispensed with the presumption of innocence in outlawing potential threats to the state, specifically, anyone belonging to an organisation that officially advocated the violent overthrow of the government

Following the lead of PresidentRoosevelt's New Deal in the United States, Bennett eventually followed suit as even mainstream economic thinking was changing in order to better cope with the global depression. The Bennett government introduced a Canadian version of the "New Deal," involving unprecedented public spending and federal intervention in the economy. Progressive income taxation, a minimum wage, a maximum number of working hours per week, unemployment insurance, health insurance, an expanded pension programme, and grants to farmers were all included in the plan

Although there was no unity among the motley political groups that constituted Bennett's opposition, a consensus emerged that his handling of the economic crisis was insufficient and inappropriate, even from Conservative quarters, Bennett personally became a symbol of the political failings underscoring the depression.
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While Bennett was, and is still, often criticized for lack of compassion for the impoverished masses, he stayed up through many nights reading and responding to personal letters from ordinary citizens asking for his help and often dipped into his personal fortune to send a five dollar bill to a starving family. The total amount he gave personally is uncertain, though it is believed to be about $1 million.

R. B. Bennett etait nee sur le 3, juin 1870 quand sa mere, Henrietta Stiles, visitait ses parents a Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick, Canada. Il vivait a la maison de son pere, Henry John Bennett, a Hopewell Cape, une village de 1,800 personnes.
...
En addition de son foi protestante, Bennett a grandi avec un amour durable de l'Empire britannique
...
Dans 1888 Bennett a obtenu son certificat d'enseignement de première classe et a reçu un position comme un directeur de l'école de Douglastown. Seulement 18 ans, Bennett avait du succès.
...
Bennett started at Dalhousie University in 1890, graduating in 1893 with a law degree. He worked his way through with a job as assistant in the library, being recommended by Dr. R. C. Weldon.

He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in the 1898 general election representing the riding of West Calgary, he would be re-elected to a second term in office in 1902 Independent from the parties in the Northwest Territories legislature.

In 1905, when Alberta was carved out of the territories and made a province, Bennett became the first leader of the Alberta Conservative Party and, in 1909, won a seat in the provincial legislature before switching to federal politics.

Elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1911, Bennett returned to the provincial scene to again lead the Alberta Tories in the 1913 provincial election but kept his seat in Ottawa when his Tories failed to take power in the province. He was appointed Minister of Justice in 1921 shortly before the federal Tory government of Arthur Meighen was defeated. Bennett returned to government as Minister of Finance in 1926 and became Conservative leader in 1927 at the first Conservative leadership convention.

By defeating William Lyon Mackenzie King in the 1930 federal election, Bennett became the first Prime Minister of Canada to have been elected from a Calgary riding, a distinction he held until Stephen Harper's 2006 election. But he also had the misfortune of taking office during the worst depression of the century for the country and the rest of the world. Bennett tried to combat the depression by increasing trade within the British Empire and imposing tariffs for imports from outside the Empire, promising that his measures would blast Canadian exports into world markets. His success was limited however, and his own wealth and impersonal style alienated many struggling Canadians.

A nickname that would stick with Bennett for the remainder of his political career, "Iron Heel Bennett," came from a 1932 speech he gave in Toronto that ironically, if unintentionally, alluded to Jack London's socialist novel:

Reacting to fears of Communist subversion, Bennett invoked the controversial Section 98 of the Criminal Code of Canada. Enacted in the aftermath of the Winnipeg General Strike, Section 98 dispensed with the presumption of innocence in outlawing potential threats to the state, specifically, anyone belonging to an organisation that officially advocated the violent overthrow of the government

Following the lead of PresidentRoosevelt's New Deal in the United States, Bennett eventually followed suit as even mainstream economic thinking was changing in order to better cope with the global depression. The Bennett government introduced a Canadian version of the "New Deal," involving unprecedented public spending and federal intervention in the economy. Progressive income taxation, a minimum wage, a maximum number of working hours per week, unemployment insurance, health insurance, an expanded pension programme, and grants to farmers were all included in the plan

Although there was no unity among the motley political groups that constituted Bennett's opposition, a consensus emerged that his handling of the economic crisis was insufficient and inappropriate, even from Conservative quarters, Bennett personally became a symbol of the political failings underscoring the depression.
...
While Bennett was, and is still, often criticized for lack of compassion for the impoverished masses, he stayed up through many nights reading and responding to personal letters from ordinary citizens asking for his help and often dipped into his personal fortune to send a five dollar bill to a starving family. The total amount he gave personally is uncertain, though it is believed to be about $1 million.