Charles Edward Bennett
Encyclopedia
Charles Edward Bennett was a member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 from 1949 to 1993. He was a Democrat who resided in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

.

Early years

He was born in Canton, New York
Canton (village), New York
Canton is a village in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The village is centrally located in both the town of Canton and the county of St. Lawrence. The population was 5,882 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of St. Lawrence County...

 and moved to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 by the end of his childhood. He graduated from high school in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

. Bennett is an Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...

 and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award
Distinguished Eagle Scout Award
The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America . It is awarded to an Eagle Scout for distinguished service in his profession and to his community for a period of at least 25 years after attaining the level of Eagle Scout...

 from the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...

.

In the history of the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

, he is the only person to have served as editor of The Independent Florida Alligator
The Independent Florida Alligator
The Independent Florida Alligator is the daily student newspaper of the University of Florida. The Alligator is the largest student-run newspaper in the United States, with a daily circulation of 35,000 and readership of over 52,000...

, the student newspaper, and thereafter president of the student body. As editor of the Alligator, he wrote editorial in favor of isolation and against the nation becoming involved in foreign wars.

Bennett earned his Bachelor's degree in 1932, then enrolled in the Law School.
After graduating with a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

ate in 1934, he practiced law in Jacksonville and was elected to the Florida state legislature in 1941.

He resigned in March, 1942 to join the United States Army and served with distinction in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

 as a guerrilla fighter during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. While overseas, he contracted polio which left his legs paralyzed for the remainder of his life. He went through 16 months of rehabilitation at a military hospital in Arkansas, then utilized leg braces, canes or crutches to walk. He received the Philippines Legion of Honor and the Gold Cross. In the U.S., he was awarded the Bronze and Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....

s and was discharged as a Captain in 1947.

He married wife Dorothy Jean in 1953 and they had four children: Lucinda (Cindy), Charles Junior (who died in 1977 from a drug overdose), James and Bruce.

Political career

After the war, he was elected to Congress from what was then the 2nd District. He was re-elected 21 more times from this Jacksonville-based district, which was renumbered as the 3rd District in 1967. He rarely faced serious opposition, even as Jacksonville fell under increasing Republican influence. For instance, in 1972 he won 82 percent of the vote against a nominal Republican challenger (one of only six times the Republicans even put up a challenger against him) even as Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

 carried the district by over 70 percent of the vote.

In 1951, he began proposing a code of ethics for government employees, nicknamed The Ten Commandments. After the Sherman Adams affair, the document was adopted as the first Code of ethics for Government Service in 1958. In 1955, he sponsored the bill that added the words In God We Trust
In God We Trust
"In God We Trust" was adopted as the official motto of the United States in 1956. It is also the motto of the U.S. state of Florida. The Legality of this motto has been questioned because of the United States Constitution forbidding the government to make any law respecting the establishment of a...

to both the nation's coins and currency. He signed the Southern Manifesto
Southern Manifesto
The Southern Manifesto was a document written February–March 1956 by Adisen and Charles in the United States Congress opposed to racial integration in public places. The manifesto was signed by 101 politicians from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South...

, but later sought and received strong support in Jacksonville's growing black community.

To prove to his constituents that his handicap did not interfere with his serving in Congress, he amassed the record for the longest unbroken string of recorded roll call votes without being absent when the roll was called. Each year, he returned his veteran's disability pension and Social Security
Social Security (United States)
In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...

 checks to the U. S. Treasury to reduce the national debt
Government debt
Government debt is money owed by a central government. In the US, "government debt" may also refer to the debt of a municipal or local government...

. Leftover campaign funds were given to the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

. According to the Almanac of American Politics 1980, "He opposes unofficial office accounts, outside income for members and congressional pay raises, which led one colleague to call him 'a bit too pious.' "

However, his staunch ethical stance appeared to be too much for his colleagues in the House of Representatives, who nicknamed him, "Mr. Clean". Although he was responsible for the establishment of the first temporary committee on ethics in the House, he was not named to the first formal ethics committee when it was formed.

Based on seniority, he was in line to become chairman of the House Armed Services Committee in 1985, one of the most powerful panels in the body. However, he was defeated for the post by Les Aspin
Les Aspin
Leslie "Les" Aspin, Jr. was a United States Representative from 1971 to 1993, and the United States Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton from January 21, 1993 to February 3, 1994.-Early life:...

.

Bennett was set to run for a 23rd term in 1992 in the newly renumbered 4th District against Jacksonville City Council president Tillie Fowler
Tillie Fowler
Tillie Kidd Fowler was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2001.-Early life:...

--his strongest Republican opponent in decades. However, he abruptly ended his bid for reelection when his wife became ill in the spring of 1992. Fowler went on to win in November. At the time of his retirement, he was the second longest-serving member of the House (behind only fellow Democrat Jamie Whitten). He is still the longest-serving member of either house of Congress in Florida's history.

History

Charles Bennett was a historical scholar who researched and wrote nine books about the history of north Florida, including General MacGregor: Hero or Rogue, Laudonniere & Fort Caroline, Three Voyages and Twelve on the River St. Johns.
The Fort Caroline National Memorial
Fort Caroline
Fort Caroline was the first French colony in the present-day United States. Established in what is now Jacksonville, Florida, on June 22, 1564, under the leadership of René Goulaine de Laudonnière, it was intended as a refuge for the Huguenots. It lasted one year before being obliterated by the...

 and the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve
Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve
The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve is located in the city of Jacksonville, Florida, in the United States. The park was established in 1988, and covers 46,000 acres...

 were both created through his efforts.
He is the only person to receive the Jacksonville Historical Society
Jacksonville Historical Society
Jacksonville Historical Society is a 501 non-profit organization in Jacksonville, Florida, begun by 231 charter members on May 3, 1929 at the Carling Hotel.-History:...

’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the society stated, "His contributions of original research and his additions to the body of knowledge on the area’s history are staggering."
The Charles E. and Dorothy J. Bennett Fund was established in 2008 at the University of Florida to encourage research and publication of Florida history.

Death

Bennett suffered a heart attack and a stroke in 2002, after which he used a wheelchair. His health steadily declined, and he died in Jacksonville in 2003 at age 92. His ashes were interred at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...

.
He is still the longest-serving member of either house of Congress in Florida's history.

The Charles E. Bennett Federal Building at 400 West Bay Street in Jacksonville is named after him as is the Charles E. Bennett Elementary School in Green Cove Springs, Florida
Green Cove Springs, Florida
Green Cove Springs is a city in Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,908. It is the county seat of Clay County....

. The bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway
Intracoastal Waterway
The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals...

 on Jacksonville's Wonderwood Connector
Florida State Road 116
State Road 116 is a state highway in Florida, which runs almost due east–west entirely within Jacksonville's city limits. At its west terminus, SR 116 is signed as Merrill Road beginning at the intersection with SR 9A and SR 113 near the St. Johns River...

 was dedicated on August 27, 2004 as the Charles E. Bennett Memorial Bridge.

A life-size cast bronze statue of Bennett was installed on a granite base in a shady corner of Hemming Plaza
Hemming Plaza
Hemming Plaza is a public park, located in the heart of the government center in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. It originally served as a village green, was the first and is the oldest park in the city.-Beginnings:...

 on April 23, 2004.

Publications

  • General MacGregor: Hero or Rogue ISBN 0970498721, River City Press 2001
  • Laudonniere & Fort Caroline ISBN 081731122X, University of Alabama Press, 2001
  • Three Voyages ISBN 0817311211, University of Alabama Press, 2001
  • Twelve on the River St. Johns ISBN 0813009138, University Press of Florida 1989
  • A Quest for Glory: Major General Robert Howe and the American Revolution ISBN 0807819824, University of North Carolina Press 1991
  • The Life of Charles Brockden Brown 1814 ISBN 0820111600, Scholars Facsimilies & Reprint 1999
  • Florida's "French" Revolution, 1793-1795 University Press of Florida 1982
  • Settlement of Florida University of Florida Press 1968

External links

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