William Lyon MacKenzie King

#redirect William Lyon Mackenzie King

William Lyon Mackenzie King

:''Not to be confused with William Lyon Mackenzie, Mackenzie King's grandfather.'' {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" |+ William Lyon Mackenzie King |- | align="center" colspan="2" | |- | align=center colspan=2 | 10th Prime Minister of Canada |- | First Term: | December 29, 1921–
June 28,1926 |- | Second Term: | September 25, 1926–
August 6,1930 |- | Third Term: | October 23, 1935–
November 14,1948 |- | Predecessor: | Arthur Meighen |- | First Successor: | Arthur Meighen |- | Second Successor: | Richard Bedford Bennett |- | Third Successor: | Louis St. Laurent |- | Date of Birth: | December 17, 1874 |- | Place of Birth: | Kitchener, Ontario |- | Spouse: | never married |- | Profession: | lawyer |- | Political party: | Liberal Party of Canada |} '''William Lyon Mackenzie King, Queen's Privy Council for Canada , Doctor of Laws, Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Arts, Bachelor of Arts ''' (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921, to June 28, 1926; September 25, 1926, to August 7, 1930; and October 23, 1935, to November 15, 1948. He had the longest combined time in the Prime Minister position in British Commonwealth history. ==Early life== King was born in Berlin, Ontario (now Kitchener, Ontario). A grandson of William Lyon Mackenzie, leader of the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837, King held five university degrees. He obtained three from the University of Toronto: B.A. 1895, LL.B. 1896, and M.A. 1897. After studying at the University of Chicago, Mackenzie King proceeded to Harvard University, receiving an M.A. in political economy 1898 and a Ph.D. 1909. He was first elected to Parliament of Canada as a Liberal Party of Canada in a 1908 by-election, and was re-elected in a 1909 by-election following his appointment as Canada's first Minister of Labour (Canada). He lost his seat in the Canadian federal election, 1911, which saw the Conservative Party of Canada (historic) defeat his Liberals. Following his defeat, he went to the United States to work for the Rockefeller family, assisting them in labour relations. He returned to Canada to run in the Canadian federal election, 1917, which focused almost entirely on the conscription issue, and lost again, due to his opposition to conscription, which was supported by the majority of English Canadians. In 1919, he was elected leader at the first Liberal leadership conventions, and soon returned to parliament in a by-election. King remained leader until 1948. In the Canadian federal election, 1921, his party defeated Arthur Meighen and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and he became Prime Minister of Canada. ==The "King-Byng" Affair== ''Main article: King-Byng Affair'' In his first term as Prime Minister, he was opposed by the Progressive Party of Canada, which did not support trade tariffs. King called an Canadian federal election, 1925, in which the Conservative Party of Canada (historical) won the most seats, but not a majority in the Canadian House of Commons. King held onto power with the support of the Progressive Party of Canada. Soon into his term, however, a bribery scandal in the Department of Customs was revealed, which led to more support for the Conservatives and Progressives, and the possibility that King would be forced to resign. King asked Governor General of Canada Julian H.G. Byng, Viscount Byng of Vimy to dissolve Parliament and call another election, but Byng refused, the only time in History of Canada that the Governor General has exercised such a power. King resigned, and Byng asked Meighen to form a new government. When Meighen's government was defeated in the House of Commons a short time later, however, Byng called a new Canadian federal election, 1926. King and the Liberals returned to power. ==Depression and war== In his second term, King introduced old-age pensions. In February 1930, he appointed Cairine Wilson, whom he knew personally, as the first female Canadian Senate in Canadian history. His government was in power during the beginning of the Great Depression, but lost the Canadian federal election, 1930 to the Conservative Party, now led by Richard Bedford Bennett. King's Liberals were returned to power once more in the Canadian federal election, 1935. The worst of the Depression had passed, and King implemented relief programs such as the National Housing Act and National Employment Commission. His government also created the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1936, Trans-Canada Airlines (the precursor to Air Canada) in 1937, and the National Film Board of Canada in 1939. Alexander_Cambridge,_1st_Earl_of_Athlone,_Franklin_D._Roosevelt,_Winston_Churchill,_and_King_at_a_Quebec_Conference,_1943">Image:Kingconference.jpg|thumb|300px|Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and King at a Quebec Conference, 1943 King hoped an outbreak of war in the 1930s could be avoided. He had met with Hermann G�ring and Adolf Hitler, whom he said was a reasonable man who cared for his fellow man, working to improve his country in the midst of the Depression. He confided in his diary that he thought Hitler "might come to be thought of as one of the saviours of the world" and told a Jewish delegation that "Kristallnacht might turn out to be a blessing." King realized the necessity of World War II before Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, but unlike World War I when Canada was automatically at war as soon as Britain joined, King asserted Canadian autonomy by waiting until September 10, when a vote in the House of Commons took place, to support the government's decision to declare war. King's promise not to impose conscription contributed to the Liberals' re-election in the Canadian federal election, 1940. But after the fall of France in 1940, Canada introduced conscription for home service, and only volunteers were to be sent overseas. King wanted to avoid a repeat of the Conscription Crisis of 1917. By 1942, the military was pressing King hard to send conscripts to Europe. In 1942, King held a national plebiscite on the issue asking the nation to relieve him of the commitment he had made during the election campaign. He said that his policy was "conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription." French Canadians voted overwhelmingly against conscription, but the majority of English Canada supported it. For the next two years, King tried to avoid the issue with a massive campaign to recruit volunteers, despite heavy losses in the Dieppe Raid in 1942, in Italy in 1943, and after the Battle of Normandy in 1944. At the end of 1944, he finally decided it was necessary to send conscripts to Europe. This led to a brief political crisis (see Conscription Crisis of 1944), but the war ended just a few months later. Few of the conscripts ever saw combat. ==Canadian autonomy== Throughout his term, King led Canada from a colony with responsible government to an autonomous nation within the British Commonwealth. During the Chanak Crisis of 1922, King refused to support the British without first consulting parliament, while Conservative leader, Arthur Meighen, pronounced "ready, aye, ready". The British were disappointed with King's response, but this was the first time that Canada had really asserted an independent foreign policy. After the King-Byng Affair, King went to the Imperial Conference of 1926, and argued for greater autonomy of the Dominions. This resulted in the Balfour Declaration, which announced the equal status of all members of the Commonwealth of Nations, including Britain. In the lead up to World War II, King played two roles. On one hand, he told English Canadians that Canada would no doubt enter war if Britain did. On the other hand, he and his right hand man Ernest Lapoint told French Canadians that Canada would only go to war if it was in the country's best interests. With the dual messages, King slowly led Canada towards war without causing strife between Canada's two main linguistic communities. As his final step in asserting Canada's autonomy, King ensured that the Canadian Parliament made its own declaration of war on the day after Britain. ==Post-war Canada== Mackenzie King won the Canadian federal election, 1945. King was considered a minor player in the war by United States President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt and United Kingdom Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill, despite hosting a wartime conference in Quebec City in 1943. Nonetheless, King helped found the United Nations in 1945. In 1948, he retired after 22 years as Prime Minister, and was succeeded as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister of Canada by Louis Stephen St. Laurent. ==Personal life== Mackenzie King was a cautious politician who tailored his policies to prevailing opinions. "Parliament will decide," he liked to say when pressed to act. Privately, he was highly eccentric with his preference for consulting spirits, including those of Leonardo da Vinci, Louis Pasteur, his dead mother and his dog. He sought personal reassurance from the spirits, rather than political advice. Indeed, after his death, one of the mediums said that she had not realized that he was a politician. King did ask whether his party would win the 1935 election, one of the few times politics came up during his seances. His occult interests were not widely known during his term in office, however, and only became publicized by biographers after his death who used the extensive diaries that he kept most of his life. He never married, but had a close female friend, Joan Patteson, a married woman, with whom he spent much of his leisure time. His country retreat at Kingsmere in Gatineau Park, near Ottawa, is open to the public. Mackenzie King died on July 22, 1950, at his home near Ottawa. He is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Toronto. He is pictured on the Canadian dollar. ==Quotations==

We had no shape
Because he never took sides;
And no sides
Because he never allowed them to take shape. :from Francis Reginald Scott, "[http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/scott_fr/poem5.htm W.L.M.K.]"

William Lyon Mackenzie King
Sat in a corner and played with string,
Loved his mother like anything,
William Lyon Mackenzie King. :Dennis Lee, "William Lyon Mackenzie King"

"Conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription." ==External links== *[http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=42131 Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''] * [http://warmuseum.ca/cwm/newspapers/canadawar/wlmking_e.html Canadian Newspapers and the Second World War - William Lyon Mackenzie King] * [http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/news/ramfiles_Early_37-52/Pm-mk.rm Mackenzie King declares war against Nazi Germany (.rm file)] 1874 births 1950 deaths Canadian lawyers Canadian Prime Ministers Leaders of the Liberal Party of Canada World War II political leaders Diarists

William Lyon Mackenzie King

It strikes me that the section on the 1920s is unbalanced. He was prime minister for almost the entire decade. Surely he did more than triumph over Byng and Meighen in 1926. Does anyone have more details about the sorts of things he was doing in the 1920s? User:HistoryBA 20:27, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC) In addition, can someone straighten out the correct form of the surname, whether it's "Mackenzie King, William Lyon" or "King, William Lyon Mackenzie"? I ''think'' the first is correct, but this article uses a random mixture of the two surname forms. --User:Johnwcowan 21:12, 23 Feb 2005 (UTC) :King's surname was King. He called himself Mackenzie King to emphasize his ties with his grandfather Mackenzie. Mackenzie, however, was one of his given names, not his surname. User:Deleting Unnecessary Words 00:24, 24 Feb 2005 (UTC) == Preceded/Succeded == Seems to be a problem with either the names or the dates in the chart at the bottom. I don't have time to fix it now, and I'm not sure how to use these tables properly, but if it's not fixed i'll come back and try to sort it out. :*Huh? Looks OK to me... User:Fawcett5 04:28, 17 May 2005 (UTC) my bad, got confused by Meighan's 28 day term --User:The Goog 21:10, May 17, 2005 (UTC) ==Crystal Ball== I have been asked why I keep making this insert, I was watching a Canadian political talk show yesterday "Countdown", on CTV and they were talking about it, when they were talking about the Speakers BBQ, they talked about Mackenzie King because the house was his. At this time they talked about how he had a Crystal Ball and a Ouija board, which he used as advisors to help him make his important decisions. - Meanie. :With all due respect to "Countdown," journalists tend to sensationalize history, as they frequently do with King. The truth is better found in the work of scholars like Charles Stacey, Joy Esberey, and Blair Neatby. King did own a crystal ball, which was given to him by a friend, but did not use it or believe that it could be used to contact the spirits. His diaries contain no reference to a ouija board. He was, however, a spiritualist, beleving that he could contact the deceased through the help of a medium. User:HistoryBA 00:59, 17 Jun 2005 (UTC)

See other meanings of words starting from letter:

W

WA | WB | WC | WD | WE | WF | WG | WH | WI | WJ | WK | WL | WM | WN | WO | WP | WR | WS | WT | WU | WX | WY | WZ |

Words begining with William_Lyon_Mackenzie_King:

William_Lyon_MacKenzie_King
William_Lyon_Mackenzie_King
William_Lyon_Mackenzie_King