Henry Wise Wood, CMG (May 31, 1860 – June 10, 1941) was an American-bornCanadianagrarian thinker and activist. He became director in 1914 and was elected president of the United Farmers of Alberta in 1916. Under his leadership the UFA became the most powerful political lobby group in the province. In 1919, Wood oversaw the transition of the UFA into a political party and in 1921 they formed the government of Alberta, winning 38 of 61 seats in the Legislative Assembly.[1] Wood refused to enter electoral politics himself but led the UFA's extra-parliamentary organization throughout, and influenced the elected government from the sidelines.
Wood was born on a farm near Monroe City, Missouri to a prosperous farming family with land holding in Missouri and Texas. He became an accomplished stockman while still a teenager. At the age of 44 he visited Alberta and the following year (1905) purchased a wheat farm and moved his family to Carstairs, Alberta.[1]
Leadership of United Farmers of Albertaedit
An earnest student of agrarian reform, he had observed the Alliance and Populist movements in Missouri during the 1890s and after relocating to Canada soon joined the Society for Equity, an early farm association. In 1909 the Society for Equity merged with the Alberta Farmers' Association to form the United Farmers of Alberta. In 1914 Wood became a director of the UFA; in 1915 he was elected vice-president and was president from 1916 to 1931.
Class conflict ideologyedit
Wood became well known as the main theorist and head of the radical Albertan branch of the wave of agrarian discontent that was sweeping Canada at the time. He consistently refused to run for office. After initial opposition due to past experience with will-fated political farm organizations in the U.S., he backed the United Farmers when they began to engage in direct politics - running for office - and also supported the Progressive Party of Canada and UFA candidates federally. Wood's basic ideology was one of supporting farmers' class interests against bankers and industrialists and hope for birth of cooperative society. He put forward new idea of representative government - the concept of "group government" - in which a legislature proportionally representing each sector of the society would replace the existing parliamentary system where political parties represent narrow class interests.[2][3]
henry, wise, wood, american, inventor, henry, wise, wood, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, news. For the American inventor see Henry A Wise Wood This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Henry Wise Wood news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2009 Learn how and when to remove this message Henry Wise Wood CMG May 31 1860 June 10 1941 was an American born Canadian agrarian thinker and activist He became director in 1914 and was elected president of the United Farmers of Alberta in 1916 Under his leadership the UFA became the most powerful political lobby group in the province In 1919 Wood oversaw the transition of the UFA into a political party and in 1921 they formed the government of Alberta winning 38 of 61 seats in the Legislative Assembly 1 Wood refused to enter electoral politics himself but led the UFA s extra parliamentary organization throughout and influenced the elected government from the sidelines Henry Wise WoodCMGPortrait of Henry Wise WoodBorn 1860 05 31 May 31 1860Ralls County MissouriDiedJune 10 1941 1941 06 10 aged 81 Carstairs AlbertaCitizenshipCanadianKnown forAgrarian theoristTitlePresidentTerm1916 1931MovementUnited Farmers of Alberta Contents 1 Background and early career 2 Leadership of United Farmers of Alberta 2 1 Class conflict ideology 3 Later life 4 References 4 1 Works cited 5 External linksBackground and early career editWood was born on a farm near Monroe City Missouri to a prosperous farming family with land holding in Missouri and Texas He became an accomplished stockman while still a teenager At the age of 44 he visited Alberta and the following year 1905 purchased a wheat farm and moved his family to Carstairs Alberta 1 Leadership of United Farmers of Alberta editAn earnest student of agrarian reform he had observed the Alliance and Populist movements in Missouri during the 1890s and after relocating to Canada soon joined the Society for Equity an early farm association In 1909 the Society for Equity merged with the Alberta Farmers Association to form the United Farmers of Alberta In 1914 Wood became a director of the UFA in 1915 he was elected vice president and was president from 1916 to 1931 Class conflict ideology edit Wood became well known as the main theorist and head of the radical Albertan branch of the wave of agrarian discontent that was sweeping Canada at the time He consistently refused to run for office After initial opposition due to past experience with will fated political farm organizations in the U S he backed the United Farmers when they began to engage in direct politics running for office and also supported the Progressive Party of Canada and UFA candidates federally Wood s basic ideology was one of supporting farmers class interests against bankers and industrialists and hope for birth of cooperative society He put forward new idea of representative government the concept of group government in which a legislature proportionally representing each sector of the society would replace the existing parliamentary system where political parties represent narrow class interests 2 3 Later life editAppointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1935 Wood continued to play an important role in the UFA until 1937 when he retired to his farm in Carstairs Alberta He died in 1941 A school in Calgary Henry Wise Wood Senior High was named after him References edit a b Henry Wise Wood Archived 2017 09 21 at the Wayback Machine The Canadian Encyclopedia Irvine Farmers in Politics 1920 Rolph Henry Wise Wood of Alberta Works cited edit Rolph William Kirby 1950 Henry Wise Wood of Alberta Toronto University of Toronto Press External links editWorks by or about Henry Wise Wood at Internet Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Henry Wise Wood amp oldid 1219480375, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
