After the Second World War and even in the era of the Depression itself, Conservatism saw a boost. Conservatives were able to use the 1937-1938 Recession and label it as the Roosevelt Recession, and blame the New Deal. The Conservative Coalition was subsequently formed. The Truman years saw turmoil for popularity for the Democrats as the nation was embroiled in a seemingly unending war in Korea, the White House suffered scandals, the the specter of Communism loomed. The Conservatives also exerted their strength, hamstringing Democratic Presidents from 1937 until the early 60s, and limiting the power of Labor Union (Taft-Hartley). The Republicans were split between those who wanted to remain on the world stage, and those who wanted to return to an isolationism, letting Europe fall to the Commies if that was how it would turn out. In 1952, it looked like Robert Taft, the leader of the Conservatives, was poised to take the White House. Then came Ike, who though he disliked how the Democrats were -in his opinion- expanding government at the expense of liberty, was a Moderate and very fearful Taft would take us off of the world stage. Ike won, and the 50s was an era of Moderation. The New Deal was not dismantled, and Ike even took the initiative to do programs of his own. Though the Conservatives tried to constrain presidential authority with things like the Bricker Amendment, it failed. And thus, an Imperial Presidency and an America with the legacy of FDR and the New Deal would remain.
However, what if things had gone differently? Certainly after World War I there was a "Return to Normalcy" with Conservative politics ruling the day and rolling back the age of Progressivism. What if a similar thing happened after World War 2, where Conservatives took enough power and gained enough support, rolled back the New Deal, reasserted Conservative politics, and withdrew America back into non-interventionism?