Henry Wise Wood
Encyclopedia
Henry Wise Wood 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. Wood refused to enter electoral politics himself but led the UFA's extra-parliamentary organization throughout, and influenced the elected government from the sidelines.
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
.
federally. Wood's basic ideology was one of class conflict.
and borrowed from their vocabulary. Wood believed the two main parties, the Liberals
and the Conservatives
, were dominated by the industrial interests of central Canada, but he did not see this as a problem. He acknowledged that every class should do its utmost to curry favour from the government. However, Wood did find it problematic that the rural interests were not represented and thus could not get their share of the spoils. This position was unpopular in most of Canada and the capture of the Progressive Party by followers of Wood helped reduce the party in popularity outside Alberta.
.
He died in 1941. A school in Calgary
, Henry Wise Wood Senior High
, was named after him.
United Farmers of Alberta
The United Farmers of Alberta is an association of Alberta farmers that has served many different roles throughout its history as a lobby group, a political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. Since 1934 it has primarily been an agricultural supply cooperative headquartered in Calgary...
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. Wood refused to enter electoral politics himself but led the UFA's extra-parliamentary organization throughout, and influenced the elected government from the sidelines.
Background and early career
Wood was born on a farm near Monroe City, MissouriMonroe City, Missouri
Monroe City is a city in Marion, Monroe, and Ralls counties in the US state of Missouri. The population was 2,588 at the 2000 census.The Marion and Ralls County portions of Monroe City are part of the Hannibal Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
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
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
and the following year (1905) purchased a wheat farm and moved his family to Carstairs, Alberta
Carstairs, Alberta
Carstairs is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 2A, south of the provincial capital, Edmonton, and north of Calgary, the nearest major city. The closest neighbouring communities are the towns of Didsbury and Crossfield...
.
Leadership of United Farmers of Alberta
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 ideology
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, but backed the United Farmers when they ran for office in the province and also supported the Progressive Party of CanadaProgressive Party of Canada
The Progressive Party of Canada was a political party in Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces and, in Manitoba, ran candidates and formed governments as the Progressive Party of Manitoba...
federally. Wood's basic ideology was one of class conflict.
Accused of Bolshevik tendencies
He was often accused of being a BolshevikBolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
and borrowed from their vocabulary. Wood believed the two main parties, the Liberals
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...
and the Conservatives
Conservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
, were dominated by the industrial interests of central Canada, but he did not see this as a problem. He acknowledged that every class should do its utmost to curry favour from the government. However, Wood did find it problematic that the rural interests were not represented and thus could not get their share of the spoils. This position was unpopular in most of Canada and the capture of the Progressive Party by followers of Wood helped reduce the party in popularity outside Alberta.
Later life
Wood continued to play an important role in the UFA until 1937 when he retired to his farm in Carstairs, AlbertaCarstairs, Alberta
Carstairs is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 2A, south of the provincial capital, Edmonton, and north of Calgary, the nearest major city. The closest neighbouring communities are the towns of Didsbury and Crossfield...
.
He died in 1941. A school in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Henry Wise Wood Senior High
Henry Wise Wood Senior High
Henry Wise Wood Senior High School is a public high school located in the southwest quadrant of Calgary, Alberta.The school was built in 1961 and is named after Henry Wise Wood, an Alberta pioneer who was instrumental in forming the Alberta Wheat Pool and the United Farmers of Alberta...
, was named after him.