Charles Edward Bennett

Charles Edward Bennett (ca.1949)

Charles Edward Bennett (born December 2, 1910 in Canton , New York , † September 6, 2003 in Jacksonville , Florida ) was an American politician and represented the state of Florida between 1949 and 1993 in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Charles Edward Bennett was born on December 2, 1910 in Canton, New York. His family then moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where he spent his childhood. Bennett was an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America . He was a lawyer attending the University of Florida College of Law. He also served in the United States Army during World War II before being elected to Congress as the 2nd District Representative. He was re-elected twenty-one times in the Jacksonville District, renamed the Third in 1967. Bennett rarely faced serious competition, even when Jacksonville fell under Republican influence.

In 1951, he proposed a code of ethics for government workers, nicknamed The Ten Commandments . After the Sherman-Adams Affair , the Code was adopted in 1958 as the first moral code for government service. In the meantime, in 1954, he also supported the design of coins bearing the words In God We Trust that were intended for circulation. He was also one of the men who signed the Southern Manifesto , later seeking and receiving strong backing from the rapidly growing black community in Jacksonville.

Bennett ran for a twenty-third term in the renamed 4th District in 1992. However, his Republican opponent, City Council President Tillie K. Fowler , told him that he had been in Washington too long. Fowler was born in 1942, six years before Bennett's first election victory. Bennett was furious about this statement and suddenly withdrew his candidacy.

Charles Edward Bennett died on September 6, 2003 in Jacksonville, Florida. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery . He is still the longest-serving MP from both Congress Houses in Florida's history. The Charles E. Bennett Federal Building in Jacksonville bears his name.

Web links

• Charles E. Bennett Papers
• Charles Edward Bennett in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)