John B. Bennett
Encyclopedia
John Bonifas Bennett was a politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 from the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.

Bennett was born in Garden, Michigan
Garden, Michigan
Garden is a village in Delta County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 240. The village is located within Garden Township....

, attended the public schools there and graduated from Watersmeet
Watersmeet Township, Michigan
Watersmeet Township is a civil township of Gogebic County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,472 at the 2000 census....

 High School. He graduated from Marquette University Law School
Marquette University Law School
Marquette University Law School is the professional school for the study of law at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and one of only two law schools in Wisconsin. With 45 full-time professors and approximately 760 J.D. students, the law school is ranked in the top tier among American...

 in 1925, and took a post-graduate course at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

 Law School in 1926.

He was admitted to the Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...

 in 1925 and to the Michigan bar in 1926. He practiced law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 in Ontonagon, Michigan
Ontonagon, Michigan
Ontonagon is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 1,769. It is the county seat of Ontonagon County....

, from 1926 through 1942. He was prosecuting attorney of Ontonagon County
Ontonagon County, Michigan
-National protected areas:* Keweenaw National Historical Park * Ottawa National Forest -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 7,818 people, 3,456 households, and 2,225 families residing in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile . There were 5,404 housing units...

 1929-1934 and the deputy commissioner of the Michigan Department of Labor and Industry
Department of Labor and Industry
Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry is a cabinet-level agency in the Government of Pennsylvania.-External links:*...

 1935-1937.

Bennett was unsuccessful in his first two attempts for a seat in 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...

, losing in 1938 and 1940 to incumbent Democrat Frank E. Hook. In 1942, Bennett defeated Hook and was elected as a Republican from Michigan's 12th congressional district
Michigan's 12th congressional district
Michigan's 12th congressional district is a United States Congressional District located in Detroit's inner suburbs to the north, along the Interstate 696 corridor in Macomb and Oakland counties, as well as a portion of Macomb north of the corridor....

 to the 78th Congress
78th United States Congress
The Seventy-eighth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1943 to January 3, 1945, during the last two years...

, serving from January 3, 1943 to January 3, 1945.

In 1944, Bennett lost the election to Hook, but defeated Hook again in 1946 for election to the 80th Congress
80th United States Congress
The Eightieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1947 to January 3, 1949, during the third and fourth...

. He was subsequently re-elected to the eight succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1947, until his death in Chevy Chase, Maryland
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Chevy Chase is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland. In addition, a number of villages in the same area of Montgomery County include "Chevy Chase" in their names...

 in August 1964.

In Congress, Bennett was a moderate Republican who initially opposed civil rights bills, but finally voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...

 shortly before his death at age 60.

He is interred in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...

.

External links

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