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*Early in his career, Bruce Bennett sought to pose as a more determined [[Segregation|segregation]]ist than [[Governor]] [[Orval Faubus]], who attempted in 1957 to block the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School but was forced by the [[Dwight Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] administration to adhere to federal court orders.
*Early in his career, Bruce Bennett sought to pose as a more determined [[Segregation|segregation]]ist than [[Governor]] [[Orval Faubus]], who attempted in 1957 to block the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School but was forced by the [[Dwight Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] administration to adhere to federal court orders.
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'''Bruce Bennett''' (October 31, 1917 – August 26, 1979) was a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[politician]] from El Dorado, [[Arkansas]], who served as his state's attorney general from 1957 to 1960 and from 1963 to 1966. Bennett lost [[Governor|gubernatorial]] elections for governor in 1960 and 1968.<ref name=ency>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1154|title=Bruce Bennett (1917–1979)|publisher=encyclopediaofarkansas.net|accessdate=October 22, 2019}}</ref>
'''Bruce Bennett''' (October 31, 1917 – August 26, 1979) was a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[politician]] from El Dorado, [[Arkansas]], who served as his state's attorney general from 1957 to 1960 and from 1963 to 1966. Bennett lost [[Governor|gubernatorial]] [[primary]] elections for governor in 1960 and 1968.<ref name=ency>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1154|title=Bruce Bennett (1917–1979)|publisher=encyclopediaofarkansas.net|accessdate=October 22, 2019}}</ref>
==Early years, education, military==
==Background==
Bennett was born to Oakley Adair Bennett and Anita Bennett in Helena in Phillips County near the [[Mississippi River]] in eastern Arkansas. In 1921, the family moved to El Dorado in Union County in southern Arkansas, where Bennett attended public schools. He studied pre-law at El Dorado Junior College and the subsequent Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia in Columbia County.<ref name=ency/>
Bennett was born to Oakley Adair Bennett and Anita Bennett in Helena in Phillips County near the [[Mississippi River]] in eastern Arkansas. In 1921, the family moved to El Dorado in Union County in southern Arkansas, where Bennett attended public schools. He studied pre-law at El Dorado Junior College and the subsequent Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia in Columbia County. In 1940, Bennett joined the [[United States Army]]; two years later, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and served fourteen months in Europe. He returned to the United States for pilot training. Toward the end of [[World War II]], Bennett was redeployed to the South Pacific as the commander of a B-29. In thirty missions over [[Japan]], he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with tree clusters, and a [[Bronze Star]]. After the war, Bennett attended [[Vanderbilt University]] Law School in [[Nashville]], [[Tennessee]], having procured his degree in 1949.<ref name=ency/>
In 1940, Bennett joined the [[United States Army]]; two years later, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and served fourteen months in Europe. He returned to the United States for pilot training. Toward the end of [[World War II]], Bennett was redeployed to the South Pacific as the commander of a B-29. In thirty missions over [[Japan]], he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with tree clusters, and a [[Bronze Star]]. After the war, Bennett attended [[Vanderbilt University]] Law School in [[Nashville]], [[Tennessee]], having procured his degree in 1949.<ref name=ency/>
In 1952 and 1954, Bennett was elected prosecuting attorney of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit for south Arkansas.<ref name=ency/>
In 1952 and 1954, Bennett was elected prosecuting attorney of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit for south Arkansas.<ref name=ency/>
==Attorney general==
==As attorney general==
Originally a [[Segregation|segregationist]], Bennett won his first term as attorney general in 1956, when he succeeded the two-term Democrat Tom Gentry.<ref name=attyg>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=5717|title=Office of Attorney General (of Arkansas)|publisher=encyclopediaof arkansas.net|accessdate=October 22, 2019}}</ref> That same year, Governor [[Orval Faubus]] defeated segregationist intra-party rival [[James D. Johnson|James Douglas Johnson]], then an outgoing state senator and later an associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court. In 1960, Bennett declined to seek a third consecutive two-year term as attorney general and instead challenged Faubus in the primary. Both Johnson in 1956 and Bennett in 1960 accused Faubus of being less than committed to racial segregation, even depicting him as a tool of the [[NAACP]] and its Arkansas leader, Daisy Bates. Bennett ran a surprisingly distant third in the primary behind Faubus and the moderate Joe Hardin, a former Arkansas Farm Bureau president.<ref name=ency/><ref>Roy Reed, ''Faubus: The Life and Times of an American Prodigal' (Fayetteville: [[University of Arkansas]] Press, 1997).</ref>
Originally a [[Segregation|segregationist]], Bennett won his first term as attorney general in 1956, when he succeeded the two-term Democrat Tom Gentry.<ref name=attyg>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=5717|title=Office of Attorney General (of Arkansas)|publisher=encyclopediaof arkansas.net|accessdate=October 22, 2019}}</ref> That same year, Governor [[Orval Faubus]] defeated segregationist intra-party rival [[James D. Johnson|James Douglas Johnson]], then an outgoing state senator and later an associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court. In 1960, Bennett declined to seek a third consecutive two-year term as attorney general and instead challenged Faubus in the primary. Both Johnson in 1956 and Bennett in 1960 accused Faubus of being less than committed to racial segregation, even depicting him as a tool of the [[NAACP]] and its Arkansas leader, Daisy Bates. Bennett ran a surprisingly distant third in the primary behind Faubus and the moderate Joe Hardin, a former Arkansas Farm Bureau president.<ref name=ency/><ref>Roy Reed, ''Faubus: The Life and Times of an American Prodigal' (Fayetteville: [[University of Arkansas]] Press, 1997).</ref>
==Later years==
==Later years==
Bennett had helped to found the Arkansas Loan and Thrift Company, which collapsed by scandal from within its ranks. AL&T padded officers’ accounts by soliciting investors for disputed industrial development projects. Company executives profited while investors were ruined by the bankruptcy of the firm in 1967. While attorney general, Bennett protected the company from state regulation in an opinion which declared it beyond the scope of state securities laws. In 1969, Bennett was charged with twenty-eight counts of securities violations and postal and wire fraud. However, a ten-year struggle with throat[[ cancer]] prevented him from facing trial.<ref name=ency/>
Bennett had helped to found the Arkansas Loan and Thrift Company, which collapsed by scandal from within its ranks. AL&T padded officers’ accounts by soliciting investors for disputed industrial development projects. Company executives profited while investors were ruined by the bankruptcy of the firm in 1967. While attorney general, Bennett protected the company from state regulation in an opinion which declared it beyond the scope of state securities laws. In 1969, Bennett was charged with twenty-eight counts of securities violations and postal and wire fraud. However, a ten-year struggle with throat[[ cancer]] prevented him from facing trial.<ref name=ency/>
Bennett is interred at Arlington Cemetery in El Dorado.<ref name=ency/> He was survived by his wife, Rebecca E. Bennett (1918–2008), and two children, James Bruce Bennett (born c. 1954), an attorney in El Dorado,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pview.findlaw.com/view/1713005_1|title=James Bruce Bennett|publisher=pview.findlaw.com|accessdate=May 10, 2010}}</ref> and Susan Bennett.<ref name=ency/>
Bennett is interred at Arlington Cemetery in El Dorado.<ref name=ency/> He was survived by his wife, Rebecca E. Bennett (1918–2008), and two children, James Bruce Bennett (born c. 1954), an attorney in El Dorado,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pview.findlaw.com/view/1713005_1|title=James Bruce Bennett|publisher=pview.findlaw.com|accessdate=May 10, 2010}}</ref> and Susan Bennett.<ref name=ency/>