Representative Joseph Yale Resnick

Joseph Yale Resnick (July 13, 1924 – October 6, 1969) was an American inventor, businessman, World War II veteran, and Democratic Congressman who represented New York’s 28th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he served two terms in Congress from January 3, 1965, to January 3, 1969, during a significant period in American political and social history, and contributed actively to the legislative process on behalf of his constituents.

Resnick was born on July 13, 1924, in Ellenville, Ulster County, New York, the son of Anna (Zaida) and Morris Resnick. Raised in a Jewish family in a small upstate community, he grew up in the Hudson Valley region that he would later represent in Congress. His early life in Ellenville and familiarity with the concerns of small-town and rural residents helped shape his later political outlook and his focus on constituent service and economic opportunity.

During World War II, Resnick served as a radio officer in the United States Merchant Marine. His wartime service, centered on communications and radio technology, provided him with technical skills and experience that he would later apply in his civilian career. The combination of practical engineering knowledge and exposure to global events during the war informed both his entrepreneurial ventures and his later legislative interests.

After the war, Resnick became an inventor and entrepreneur in the rapidly expanding field of radio and television technology. He helped found Channel Master, which became a leading producer of television antennas. Resnick invented an inexpensive, easy-to-assemble and easy-to-install television antenna that did not require the expertise of a specially trained technician, significantly broadening consumer access to television reception. He was also the inventor of the first TV antenna that improved reception by rotating toward the direction of the broadcast signal, an innovation that further enhanced the company’s prominence. By 1955, Resnick and his brothers had become millionaires, and their radio and electronics enterprises had grown into a business empire valued at about $45 million.

Resnick’s success in business led him into local public service and politics. Before winning election to Congress, he served on the Ellenville school board, where he gained experience in public administration and education policy at the community level. His local service, combined with his business background and wartime record, positioned him as a viable Democratic candidate in a region that had long favored Republicans.

In the 1964 election, Resnick was elected to the United States House of Representatives from New York’s 28th congressional district, a heavily Republican district. He defeated J. Ernest Wharton, a 14-year Republican incumbent, in a notable upset that reflected both national Democratic gains that year and Resnick’s appeal in his home region. He took office on January 3, 1965, and served two consecutive terms, leaving office on January 3, 1969. During his tenure in Congress, Resnick participated fully in the democratic process, representing the interests of his constituents in a period marked by the civil rights movement, the escalation of the Vietnam War, and significant domestic policy debates.

As a legislator, Resnick was known as a champion of civil rights and an advocate for stronger federal protections in that area, while at the same time supporting the Vietnam War, a stance that placed him within the more hawkish wing of the Democratic Party of the era. He took on the American Farm Bureau Federation, challenging its influence and policies; a Resnick aide later wrote a book about this confrontation, underscoring its significance in agricultural and political circles. One of his most enduring legislative achievements was his central role in the passage of the Animal Welfare Act of 1966. This landmark law empowered the United States Department of Agriculture to protect and regulate the use of certain animals in research facilities and in the commercial trade, establishing federal standards for their care and treatment.

Resnick sought to extend his political career beyond the House of Representatives by running for the United States Senate. In 1968, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat from New York, finishing third in the primary behind New York City councilman Paul O’Dwyer and Nassau County executive Eugene Nickerson. Following his Senate bid, he did not return to the House; his former seat in the 28th district was subsequently filled by Republican Hamilton Fish IV, whom Resnick had defeated in the 1966 election, marking a return of the district to Republican representation.

On October 6, 1969, Joseph Yale Resnick was found dead in a hotel room in Las Vegas, Nevada. The cause of death was ruled to be a myocardial infarction. He was 45 years old. Resnick was buried at the Hebrew Aid Society Cemetery in Wawarsing, New York, near his hometown of Ellenville. In recognition of his contributions and his prominence as a local businessman, inventor, and public servant, the Joseph Y. Resnick Airport in Ellenville, Ulster County, was named in his honor.