Wallace F. Bennett: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Wallace F. Bennett
| image = Wallace_BennettRepublican Senator Wallace F Bennett of Utah 1954.jpg
| imagesize = 200px
| jr/sr = United States Senator
| state = [[Utah]]
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}}
 
'''Wallace Foster Bennett''' (November 13, 1898 &ndash; December 19, 1993) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], he served as a [[US Senator]] from [[Utah]] from 1951 to 1974. He was the father of [[Bob Bennett (politician)|Bob Bennett]], who later held his father's seat in the Senate.<ref name=fathers>{{cite news|date=2006-06-16|work=NBC News|title=Father's Day for the Senate's 'Legacy Caucus'|url=httphttps://www.nbcnews.com/id/13350751wbna13350751 |last=Donovan|first=Chris}}</ref>
 
==Early life and education==
Wallace Bennett was born in [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]], to John Foster and Rosetta Elizabeth (née Wallace) Bennett.<ref name=death>{{cite news|date=1993-12-20|work=Deseret News|title=DEATH: WALLACE FOSTER BENNETT|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/327035/DEATH--WALLACE-FOSTER-BENNETT.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021211853/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/327035/DEATH--WALLACE-FOSTER-BENNETT.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 21, 2013}}</ref> His grandparents were [[England|English]] immigrants who came to the [[United States]] in 1868.<ref name=national>{{cite book|title=[[The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography]]|volume=I|year=1964|publisher=James T. White & Company}}</ref> He received his early education at local public schools and graduated from [[LDS High School]] in 1916.<ref name=current>{{cite book|title=[[Current Biography]]|year=1950|publisher=[[H. W. Wilson Company]]}}</ref> He then enrolled at the [[University of Utah]], where he majored in English and won a [[varsity letter]] in debate.<ref name=current/>
 
Bennett, a member of the university's [[Reserve Officers' Training Corps]], interrupted his college education to serve in the [[US Army]] during [[World War I]].<ref name=congress>{{cite news|work=[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]]|title=BENNETT, Wallace Foster, (1898 - 1993)|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000384}}</ref> He was commissioned as a [[second lieutenant]] of the [[Infantry Branch (United States)|Infantry]] in September 1918 and was assigned as an instructor in the Student Army Training Corps at [[Colorado College]].<ref name=national/> He later returned to the University of Utah and earned his [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in 1919.<ref name=congress/> For a year after his graduation, he served as principal of San Luis Stake Academy in [[Manassa, Colorado]].<ref name=utah>{{citation |last= Gessel |first= David C. |contribution= Bennett, Wallace F. |contribution-url= http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/b/BENNETT_WALLACE.html |editor-last= Powell |editor-first= Allan Kent |year= 1994 |title= Utah History Encyclopedia |location= Salt Lake City, Utah |publisher= [[University of Utah Press]] |isbn= 0874804256 |oclc= 30473917}}</ref>
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In addition to his work in his family's business, Bennett organized a [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] dealership, the Bennett Motor Company, and served as its president from 1939 to 1950.<ref name=utah/> He also served as president of the Cardon Jewelry Company and of the National Glass Distributors Association; vice-president of Glayton Investment Company and of the National Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Association; and director of Zion's Savings Bank and Trust Company, the Utah Oil Refining Company, and the Utah Home Fire Insurance Company.<ref name=current/> In 1949, he was elected president of the [[National Association of Manufacturers]].<ref name=utah/> He spent his year-long tenure as president traveling the country and preached "the partnership of the men who put up the money, the men who do the work, and the men who tie the whole thing together."<ref name=current/>
 
He hosted a daily one-hour program, ''The Observatory Hour'', on [[KSL (radioAM)|KSL]] (1932–1933), and was president of the Salt Lake Civic Opera Company (1938–1941) and the Salt Lake Community Chest (1944–1945).<ref name=national/> In 1935, he became treasurer of the Latter-day Saints Sunday School General Board.<ref name=current/> He directed the chorus of student nurses of [[LDS Hospital]] (1942–1948) and wrote the words to ''God of Power, God of Right'', which is Hymn #20 in the [[Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1985 book)|1985 Latter-day Saints Hymnal]].<ref name=national/> He authored ''Faith and Freedom'' (1950) and ''Why I am a Mormon'' (1958).<ref name=utah/>
 
==US Senate==
In March 1950, Bennett announced his candidacy for a seat in the [[US Senate]] from Utah.<ref name=national/> After receiving the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nomination, he faced three-term [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] incumbent [[Elbert D. Thomas]] in the general election.<ref name=korean>{{cite book|last1=Brune|first1=Lester H.|title=The Korean War: Handbook of the Literature and Research|year=1996|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, Connecticut}}</ref> During the campaign, he accused Thomas of having [[communist]] positions and circulated pamphlets associating Thomas with communist organizations and figures.<ref name=korean/> In November, he defeated Thomas by a margin of 54%-46–46%.<ref name=senate>{{cite news|work=[[Clerk of the United States House of Representatives]]|title=Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1950|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1950election.pdf}}</ref> He was subsequently re-elected to three more terms.<ref name=utah/>
 
===Silver problem===
In the late 1950s, the US Treasury became a begrudging supplier of silver at $0.905 an ounce. Bennett warned that the lack of supply for the high demand would cause the deficit to fall on the Treasury Stocks. By 1961, the Treasury Stocks had unnecessarily been depleted. In 1963, the government had only 30 million ounces of free silver, but the annual coinage requirement for the United States was more than 75 million ounces. The price of silver per ounce was now $1.2929, but if the United States bought extra silver, the price would go above $1.29. The Silver Purchase Act of 1963 was supported by Bennett and repealed "existing silver purchase requirements and the transfer of tax of silver bullion."<ref name="Leaders in Profile">{{cite book|last1=Douth|first1=George|title=Leaders in Profile: The United States Senate|date=1972|publisher=Sperr & Douth, Inc.|location=New York, New York}}</ref> It also allowed the Federal Reserve to issue $1 and $2 notes to replace "silver certificates or the denominations thus making 1.6 billion ounces of silver available to the United States Treasury."<ref name="Leaders in Profile" />
 
Bennett Spokespoke at athe Convention of the American Mining Congress in 1963 that declared the coin and silver problem had reached a catastrophic level. His views were faced with much criticism. Two years later, to function properly, the Treasury proposed a new set of coins. Bennett joined forces with the administration and worked on a solution, the [[Coinage Act of 1965]], which he got through Congress to be enacted into law.<ref name="Leaders in Profile" />
 
===Leadership===
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* {{commons category-inline}}
* {{Internet Archive film clip|id=gov.archives.arc.95756|description="Longines Chronoscope with Sen. Wallace F. Bennett (May 19, 1952)"}}
* [httpshttp://findingaidarchives.lib.byu.edu/viewItemrepositories/MSS%202014/resources/463 Guide to Wallace F. Bennett papers, MSS 20] at [https://sites.lib.byu.edu/sc/the [[L. Tom Perry Special Collections]], [[Harold B. Lee Library]], [[Brigham Young University]]
* [httphttps://cdm15999.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/searchdigital/collection/p15999coll27/search Digitized items from the Wallace F. Bennett papers] at [https://sites.lib.byu.edu/sc/ [L. Tom Perry Special Collections]], [[Harold B. Lee Library]], [[Brigham Young University]]
 
{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Adam S. Bennion]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[United States Senator|U.S. Senator]] from [[Utah]]<br>([[Classes of United States Senators|Class 3]])|years=[[1950 United States Senate election in Utah, 1950|1950]], [[1956 United States Senate election in Utah, 1956|1956]], [[1962 United States Senate election in Utah, 1962|1962]], [[1968 United States Senate election in Utah|1968]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jake Garn]]}}
{{s-par|us-sen}}
{{U.S. Senator box | state=Utah |class=3 | before=[[Elbert D. Thomas]] | after=[[Jake Garn]]| years=1951–1974 | alongside=[[Arthur Vivian Watkins|Arthur V. Watkins]], [[Frank Moss (politician)|Frank Moss]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{USSenUT}}
 
{{USSenUT}}
{{Authority control}}
 
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[[Category:Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Salt Lake City]]
[[Category:Republican Party United States senators from Utah]]
[[Category:United States senators from Utah]]
[[Category:University of Utah alumni]]
[[Category:Utah Republicans]]
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[[Category:Latter Day Saints from Colorado]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saints from Utah]]
[[Category:Harold B. Lee library-related 20th century articles]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]