Irving Ives was born in Bainbridge, New York, to George Albert and Lucie Hough (née Keeler) Ives.[3] His ancestors came from England to the United States, where they settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1635; they later helped found Quinnipiac Colony in 1638, and lived in Vermont before moving to New York in 1795.[4] His father worked in the coal and feed business.[3] He received his early education at public schools in Bainbridge and Oneonta, graduating from Oneonta High School in 1914.[1]
Ives worked as a bank clerk for Guaranty Trust Company in New York City from 1920 to 1923, earning $25 per week.[3] In 1920, he married Elizabeth Minette Skinner, to whom he remained married until she died in 1947; the couple had one son, George.[1] Joining Manufacturers Trust Company in 1923, he was placed in charge of the bank's business activity in Upstate New York and subsequently moved to Norwich.[4] He remained with Manufacturers Trust until 1930, when he entered the general insurance business in Norwich.[3]
Ives was Minority Leader in 1935 and Speaker in 1936. His reelection as Speaker was opposed by his fellow liberal Republicans, who disagreed with his opposition to Governor Herbert H. Lehman's proposed social welfare program.[7] Ives stepped aside in favor of Oswald D. Heck, who subsequently named Ives Majority Leader.[8] He served in that position from 1937 to 1946.
From 1938 to 1946, Ives was chairman of the State Joint Legislative Committee on Industrial and Labor Conditions.[4] In that position he earned nationwide attention for sponsoring the Ives-Quinn Act of 1945, the first state law to prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of race, creed, color, or national origin.[9] Ives also introduced legislation to create the state Department of Commerce and to establish the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, of which he was dean from 1945 to 1947.[5] He also served as a member of the New York State War Council (1942 – 1946), chairman of the New York State Temporary Commission Against Discrimination (1944 – 1945), and chairman of the New York State Temporary Commission on Agriculture (1945 – 1946).[3]
U.S. Senate
In 1946, when Democratic incumbent James M. Mead decided to run for Governor of New York, Ives successfully ran for Mead's seat in the United States Senate.[5] He faced former Governor Lehman in the general election, during which he became the first Republican to be endorsed by the New York American Federation of Labor.[1] He defeated Lehman by a margin of 52% to 47%.[10] Ives was the first Republican to represent New York in the Senate since James W. Wadsworth Jr., who was defeated for reelection in 1926.
^ abcdefghij"Irving Ives Dead. Ex-U.S. Senator, 66". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 25, 1962. New York Republican Was a Specialist in Civil Rights and Labor Legislation. Defeated Lehman In '46. Co-Author of State's Fair Employment Practices Act. Former Cornell Dean. State Legislator 16 Years. Was Educated at Hamilton. Opposed Lehman Early Eisenhower. Backer Bill Became Campaign Issue. Former United States Senator Irving M. Ives, a specialist in labor and civil rights legislation and co-author of New York's Fair Employment Practices Act, died today after a long illness. He was 66 years old. ...
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