Thomas J. Watson and the Business-Government Relationship, 1933-1956

The precise nature of the relationship between the Americanbusiness community and the New Deal has been a lively topicof debate in recent years. This article looks at an importantfigure and firm in that relationship (Thomas J. Watson of IBM)to increase our understanding of it. This article focuses chronologicallyon the period from the early 1930s through the mid-1950s, whenNew-Deal-era public policy innovations were most influential.The overall picture that emerges from this study of the U.S.business-government relationship during those years is one ofbusiness accommodation of major changes in social conditionsand public policies rather than a view of business as the primaryleader of change.