Richard T. Ely

Richard Theodore Ely (April 13, 1854 – October 4, 1943) was an American economist, a pioneer of Christian socialism in America, and one of the leaders of Progressive Era movement. He advocated for prohibition of child labor, public control of resources, and the development of labor unions.

Life

Richard Theodore Ely was born in Ripley, New York, as the eldest of three children to Ezra Sterling and Harriet Gardner (Mason) Ely. His father was a strict Protestant, following rigorous religious practices and demanding utmost discipline. These early experiences influenced Ely’s later insistence on discipline in every sphere of life.

At the age of eighteen, after receiving his basic education at Fredonia, New York, Ely entered Dartmouth College. He later transferred to Columbia University, where he graduated in 1876. Ely spent three years on graduate studies in Germany, and in 1879 received his Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg. In 1881, he was appointed the chair of Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University, a duty he carried until 1892. At Johns Hopkins, Ely tried to introduce the German historical method into teaching economics, a move which resulted in serious conflict with a more conservative wing, led by Simon Newcomb. It is Newcomb who finally managed to get Ely dismissed from Johns Hopkins in 1892.

Ely was married on June 25, 1884 to Anna Anderson.

In 1885 Ely, together with R.A. Seligman (1861-1939), John Bates Clark, and Henry C. Adams (1851-1921), founded the American Economic Association (AEA), and Ely served as its first secretary from 1885 to 1892. The purpose of the association was to introduce German Historicism into American academia, as well as to provide a counterbalance for the conservative laissez-faire economists grouped in the Political Economy Club. However, soon after its formation the AEA became a battleground between old school conservatives and new school historicists.

In 1892, Ely moved to Wisconsin, where he became Director of the School of Economics, Political Science and History at the University of Wisconsin. In 1894, an unsuccessful attempt was made to depose him from his chair for teaching socialistic doctrines. This attack on Ely was led by a former professor at the university, Oliver E. Wells, resulting in the famous and highly publicized trial. In the end, Ely was cleared of all accusations, and the case had become a public example of the attack on academic freedom.

Ely stayed at Wisconsin for the next twenty years, producing numerous works on economic and social questions. He grew to be a distinguished scholar, his articles published in almost every large journal in the country. His Wisconsin Idea, realized through the work of John R. Commons, gave birth to numerous governmental measures and policies in the state of Wisconsin.

He also edited Macmillan's Citizen's Library of Economics, Politics, and Sociology, and was a frequent contributor to both scientific and popular periodical literature. He served as president of the American Economic Association from 1899 to 1901.

During World War I, Ely became a fanatic patriot. He was a strong advocate for the war, calling for discipline at conscription and the suppression of disloyalty at home. He also widely supported the Spanish-American War. During World War I, he organized numerous campaigns against his old ally, Governor Robert M. La Follette, who opposed American engagement in the war. He even called for the abolition of academic freedom during the war, marking all who opposed the war as traitors. Later, during the Great Depression of the 1930s Ely called for the formation of a volunteer army, made up of young men, whose work could, in Ely’s opinion, help the economy and alleviate the crisis.

After La Follette was elected to the Senate in 1924, and he regained his influence on the University of Wisconsin, Ely decided to leave. He spent the next eight years, from 1925 to 1933, teaching at Northwestern University. His influence however, was already long dissipated.

He died in Old Lyme, Connecticut, in 1943.

Work

Ely was one of the leaders of the Progressive Movement in America, contributing to numerous social policies and reform legislation, particularly in the State of Wisconsin. His social engagement was strongly motivated by his views on society and the role of government, as well as his religious beliefs.

Social reforms

The period when Ely started his work and when his ideas peaked to full maturity belongs to what historians today call the Progressive Era. As many progressives of his day, Ely was inspired by German socialist ideas, and actively worked to implement some of those ideas into practice. He was an advocate for the equal right to vote for all citizens, including women’s suffrage, and for the more effective laws regarding public control of resources. During his stay at the University of Wisconsin, he was one of the leaders of the famous Wisconsin Idea, according to which research conducted at the University of Wisconsin should serve to improve the quality of life of the people of the State of Wisconsin. Through this, the state and the university became closely connected, and State Senator Robert M. La Follette acted as one of the strongest promoters of the idea. Ely and his colleagues devised numerous social legislations, in the area of regulation of utilities, workers' compensation, and tax reform.

However, Ely did not believe that reforms needed to be made only in the political sphere. He held that parallel to their "political citizenship," citizens should also enjoy "social citizenship." Ely called "social citizenship" one’s right to participate in the economic life of the nation. Even though the whole idea was rather vague, it generally focused on the improvement of working conditions in factories, reforms in education, and reforms of the taxing system. Ely suggested, above all, expanded access to education, which would give more children a better chance for employment. In addition, social citizenship would include reductions in working hours, better working conditions, and increases in wages. Ely believed that the role of the social sciences was to create the theoretical foundation for those reforms to happen.

Even though Ely initially used the term “socialism” in his works, he refrained from using the term, coming under attack from his more conservative colleagues for “being a Communist.” He believed in many ideas that are often associated with Socialism, or even Communism, but he was never socialist or communist himself. He argued that socialism, as opposed to individualism rooted in laissez-faire capitalism, could potentially create a better society, based on principles of fraternity and cooperation. He also believed that capitalism would eventually evolve into a better society, but that government and social policies must play key role in it. Finally, instead of the term “socialism,” he used the term “social reform.”

Social Christianity

The background of Ely’s ideas in economics and politics were rooted in his religious beliefs. He had a rather strong post-millennial view of history, in which the State was an instrument of the fulfillment of God’s will. The role of Christianity is to reform society and constitute the social order in a form of a “perfect State,” where Christ would return and end history. Ely believed that the State “is religious in its essence,”, and that “God works through the State in carrying out His purposes more universally than through any other institution” (quoted in Fine 1956, 180–81). Church and State were, in Ely’s opinion, not separated, but harmoniously working together in establishing social order.

Ely was active in the evangelical Chautauqua movement, a popular educational movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was a close associate of many prominent Social Gospel leaders, including Washington Gladden (1836-1918), Walter Rauschenbusch (1861–1918), and Josiah Strong (1847-1916). Ely opened the “Christian Sociology” summer school and organized the Institute of Christian Sociology.

Legacy

Ely was one of the pioneers of the Progressive movement, whose Wisconsin Idea served as a host of progressive measures for government regulation in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Governor Robert M. La Follette, who helped get the idea applied into practice, though never a classroom student of Ely’s, always referred to Ely as his teacher. In addition, Ely was the teacher and mentor of great names such as Albion W. Small, Woodrow Wilson, John R. Commons, Edward A. Ross (1866-1951), Frederick Jackson Turner (1861-1932), and Wesley C. Mitchell (1874-1948).

Publications

• Ely, Richard T. 1886. Socialism in America. The North American review. 142(355), 519-526
• Ely, Richard T. 1888. Problems of To-day. New York: T.Y. Crowell & Co.
• Ely, Richard T. 1888. Taxation in American States and Cities. T.Y. Crowell
• Ely, Richard T. 1889. Introduction to Political Economy. New York: Chantauqua press
• Ely, Richard T. 1889. Social Aspects of Christianity. New York: T.Y. Crowell & Co.
• Ely, Richard T. 1889. The Telegraph Monopoly. The North American review, 149(392), 44-54
• Ely, Richard T. 1894. Socialism: An examination of its nature, its strength and its weakness, with suggestions for social reform. New York: T.Y. Crowell & Co.
• Ely, Richard T. 1898. Fraternalism vs. Paternalism in Government. The Century, 55(5), 780-785
• Ely, Richard T. 1923 (original published in 1893). Outlines of Economics. Macmillan
• Ely, Richard T. 1971 (original published in 1914). Property and Contract in their Relation to the Distribution of Wealth. Kennikat Press. ISBN 080461444X
• Ely, Richard T. 1972 (original published in 1883). French and German Socialism in Modern Times. Ayer Co Pub. ISBN 0836969049
• Ely, Richard T. 2000 (original published in 1900). Monopolies and Trusts. University Press of the Pacific. ISBN 089875092X
• Ely, Richard T. 2004 (original published in 1903). Studies in the Evolution of Industrial Society. University Press of the Pacific. ISBN 1410211258
• Ely, Richard T. 2005 (original published in 1886). Labor Movement in America. Adamant Media Corporation. ISBN 1402190476
• Ely, Richard T.; & Wicker, G. R. 1907. Elementary Principles of Economics. Macmillan

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

• BookRags.com. Encyclopedia of World Biography on Richard Ely. Retrieved on January 5, 2007. <http://www.bookrags.com/biography/richard-ely>
• Bernard Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis. Richard T. Ely. Retrieved on January 6, 2007. <http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/ely.htm>
• Fine, Sidney. 1956. Laissez Faire and the General-Welfare State: A Study of Conflict in American Thought, 1865–1901. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472060864
• Handy, Robert T. 1996. The Social Gospel in America, 1870–1920: Gladden, Ely, Rauschenbusch. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Rader, Benjamin G. 1966. The academic mind and reform: The influence of Richard T. Ely in American life. University of Kentucky Press
• Roberts, Evan. 2003. Patient social reformers: Concordance between method and vision in the work of Richard T. Ely and Sidney and Beatrice Webb. University of Minnesota. Retrieved on January 8, 2007. <http://www.pop.umn.edu/~eroberts/elywebb.pdf>
• Rothbard, Murray N. 2002. Richard T. Ely: paladin of the welfare-warfare state. Independent Review, 6(4), 585-590. Retrieved on January 7, 2007. <http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_06_4_rothbard.pdf>
• Rutherford, Everett. 1982. Religion in Economics: A Study of John Bates Clark, Richard T. Ely, Simon N. Patten. Porcupine Press. ISBN 0879918667
• Samuels, W. J. (Ed.). 2002. Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology, Volume 20: Richard T. Ely. The Story of Economics in the United States. Elsevier Limited. ISBN 0762307943
• Vaughn, Gerald F. 2003. Richard T. Ely: The Story of Economics in the United States. Journal of Economic Issues, 37(3), 820-823

External Links

• Private colonization of land (1918) – Full-text online edition at University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center.
• Richard T Ely – Biography at the “History of Economic Thought” website
• Richard T Ely – Biography at the University of Wisconsin website
• Academic Freedom on Trial - On Ely's 1894 trial
• Extract from The Social Law of Service – Short biography with an extract from Ely’s work
• What is the Wisconsin Idea – About the background of the Wisconsin Idea
• Progressive Era – Some web resources on Progressive Era
• American Economic Association General information about the Association

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