Henry B. Metcalf holds a Master of Arts degree from Tufts College and began his career in the dry goods industry in Boston. He transitioned into business leadership, becoming a senior partner at the Boston Button Company and later founding the Pawtucket Haircloth Company. Metcalf also established the Campbell Machine Company, specializing in shoe-making machinery. His political career included roles on the Winchester city council and the Rhode Island state senate. Metcalf's leadership extended to various organizations, including serving as president of the Rhode Island Temperance Union and vice president of the American Anti-Imperialist League.

Henry B. Metcalf's political identity is marked by a consistent advocacy for prohibition and a unique blend of economic protectionism and anti-imperialist principles. His career reveals an ideological agility, shifting from Whig to Republican, then Liberal Republican, and finally settling with the Prohibition Party. Metcalf's legislative efforts in Rhode Island and his national Prohibition Party nominations illustrate a calculated approach to local governance and national policy. His stance on protective tariffs contrasts sharply with his opposition to imperialism, creating a conceptual tension that invites deeper inquiry into his motivations.