The Nemesis of the New Deal : The New York State Economic Council and the Ives Committee in New York State

The Nemesis of the New Deal : The New York State Economic Council and the Ives Committee in New York State

&nbsp;&nbsp;When the New Deal reforms challenged existing hierarchies and values of American society, they provoked criticisms from the broadly categorized conservatives as well as the radicals of the time. While most of the New Deal opponents were on the defensive and unable to exert political influences by the mid 1930s, they still remained to be significant commentators by spreading the conservative rhetoric throughout the nation. And at the critical moment of the New Deal reform in the late 1930s, part of the opponents eventually succeeded in blocking the New Dealers from pursuing the expansion of the reform measuers and, therefore, revised the path of the New Deal significantly.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;Focusing on the political circumstances of New York State, this paper shows the ways in which diverse groups of the New Deal opponents chose to fight against the New Deal reforms differently. On the one hand, the capitalist groups exemplified in the New York State Economic Council adhered to their traditionally antagonistic attitudes toward the state regulation and the labor unions. As a result, the New York State Economic Council failed to guarantee the interests of the proprietary capitalist class or appeal to the wider audience. On the other, the changing strategy of the political conservatives worked better in New York State. As the Republican Party changed its strategy, adjusted to the New Deal environments, and played a significant role in revising the "little Wager Act" via the Ives committee, it achieved its major purposes: Restricting the New Deal reforms and removing the labor issues from the political scene of New York State. The events in New York State established a pattern that was replicated throughout the nation and contributed to the decline of the New Deal.