Harry Cassidy
Encyclopedia
Harry Cassidy was a Canadian
academic, social reformer, civil servant and, briefly, a politician.
Cassidy was a pioneer in the field of social work. He was the founding dean of the School of Social Welfare at University of California, Berkeley in the early 1940s before resigning to work for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
. He subsequently became dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Toronto
.
In the 1930s he was involved with the League for Social Reconstruction
and was a founding member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
, however, in 1950 he ran for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party
coming in second in the party leadership convention
.
Cassidy conducted studies of welfare services beginning in the 1930s and 1940s and influenced the creation of a Canadian welfare state
and improved social services as a means of improving society and alleviating poverty. During the Great Depression
he argued that the government of R.B. Bennett should create a broad system of social services such as Unemployment Insurance as a shock absorber against poverty. His research influenced Bennett's decision to try to emulate Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal
and some of his ideas were ultimately taken up by the Liberal
government of William Lyon Mackenzie King
in the 1940s, particularly after Cassidy published his 1943 study Social Security and Reconstruction in Canada. He continued to criticize Canada's social security system as inadequate, writing in 1947 that ""The provisions for general assistance are limited, restrictive, mean, and antiquated ... .[T]hey are literally disgraceful and unworthy of a nation of Canada's status".
He also worked for a period in the civil service as deputy minister of welfare in British Columbia
.
Cassidy's son, Michael Cassidy
, was a New Democratic Party
politician and leader in the 1980s and 1990s.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
academic, social reformer, civil servant and, briefly, a politician.
Cassidy was a pioneer in the field of social work. He was the founding dean of the School of Social Welfare at University of California, Berkeley in the early 1940s before resigning to work for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in 1943, it became part of the United Nations in 1945, was especially active in 1945 and 1946, and largely shut down...
. He subsequently became dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
.
In the 1930s he was involved with the League for Social Reconstruction
League for Social Reconstruction
The League for Social Reconstruction was a circle of Canadian socialist intellectuals officially formed in 1932, though it had its beginnings during a camping retreat in 1931. These academics were advocating radical social and economic reforms and political education. Industrialization,...
and was a founding member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
, however, in 1950 he ran for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
coming in second in the party leadership convention
Ontario Liberal leadership conventions
Ballot-by-ballot results of leadership elections in the Ontario Liberal Party, a political party in the Province of Ontario, Canada.Note: Before 1919, the leaders of the Ontario Liberal Party were chosen by the party's elected Members of the Legislative Assembly...
.
Cassidy conducted studies of welfare services beginning in the 1930s and 1940s and influenced the creation of a Canadian welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
and improved social services as a means of improving society and alleviating poverty. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
he argued that the government of R.B. Bennett should create a broad system of social services such as Unemployment Insurance as a shock absorber against poverty. His research influenced Bennett's decision to try to emulate Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
and some of his ideas were ultimately taken up by the Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
government of William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
in the 1940s, particularly after Cassidy published his 1943 study Social Security and Reconstruction in Canada. He continued to criticize Canada's social security system as inadequate, writing in 1947 that ""The provisions for general assistance are limited, restrictive, mean, and antiquated ... .[T]hey are literally disgraceful and unworthy of a nation of Canada's status".
He also worked for a period in the civil service as deputy minister of welfare in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Cassidy's son, Michael Cassidy
Michael Cassidy
Michael Morris Cassidy is a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1971 to 1984, and in the Canadian House of Commons from 1984 to 1988...
, was a New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
politician and leader in the 1980s and 1990s.
External links
- The Letters and Diaries of Harry Cassidy and Beatrice Pearce: The Courtship Years Edited by Keith Walden. Slated to be published by The Champlain Society in 2009.