Richard T. Ely

Richard Theodore Ely (born April 13, 1854 – died 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 Ely was born in Ripley, New York, as the eldest of three children of Ezra Sterling and Harriet Gardner (Mason) Ely. His father was a strict Protestant, keeping rigorous religious practices and demanding utmost discipline. These early experiences have probably influenced later Ely’s insistence on discipline in every sphere of life.

After receiving basic education at Fredonia, NY, at the age of eighteen Ely entered Dartmouth College. He later transferred to Columbia University, from which 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, duty he carried until 1892. At Johns Hopkins Ely tried to introduce German historical method into teaching economics, the move which resulted in serious conflict with more conservative wing led by Simon Newcomb. It is Newcomb who finally managed Ely be dismissed from Johns Hopkins in 1892.

Ely married on June 25, 1884 to Anna Anderson.

For the purpose of introducing German Historicism into American academia, as well as to provide the counterbalance for the conservative laissez-faire economists grouped in the Political Economy Club, Ely, Edwin R.A. Seligman (1861-1939), John Bates Clark, and Henry C. Adams (1851-1921) founded in 1885 the American Economic Association, and Ely served as its first secretary from 1885 to 1892. 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, the department he previously established. In 1894 an unsuccessful attempt was made to depose him from his chair for teaching socialistic doctrines. The attack on Ely was led by a former professor at the university, Oliver E. Wells, resulting in the famous and highly publicized trial. At the end Ely was cleared of all accusations, and the whole case became 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 out to a distinguished scholar, his articles being published in almost every bigger magazine 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 periodical literature, both scientific and popular. He served as a president of the American Economic Association from 1899 to 1901.

During the World War I Ely turned into a fanatic patriot. He became a strong advocate for the war, calling for the discipline at conscription and the suppression of disloyalty at home. He also widely supported Spanish-American War. During the 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 the “academic freedom” during the war, marking all who opposed the war as traitors. Later, during the Great Depression of 1930s Ely called for the formation of volunteering army, made up of conscript young men, whose work could, in Ely’s opinion, help the economy and alleviate the crisis.

After La Follette was elected to Senate in 1924, and after he regained his influence on the University of Wisconsin, Ely decided to leave Wisconsin. He spent 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 to work and when his ideas peaked to full maturity belong to, what historians call today, Progressive Era. As many progressives of his days, Ely was inspired by German socialistic ideas, and actively engaged to implement some of those ideas into practice. He advocated 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. The State and the University became closely connected, and the State Senator Robert M. La Follette acted as one of the strongest promoters of the whole idea. Ely and his colleagues devised whole bunch of social legislation, in the area of regulation of utilities, workers' compensation, and tax reform.

However, Ely did not believed that reforms need to be made only in political sphere. He held that parallel to the 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 the working conditions in factories, reforms in education, and reforms of taxing system. Ely suggested, amongst all, the expanded access to education, which would enable more children to get chance for better employment. In addition, social citizenship would include reductions in working hours, better working conditions, and increases in wages. Ely believed that the role of 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 backed up 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 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 economy and politics was rooted in his religious beliefs. He had rather strong postmillennial view of history, according to which State was an instrument of the fulfillment of God’s will. The role of Christianity is to reform the society and constitute the social order in a form of a “perfect State”, where Christ would return and end the 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” (qtd. in Fine 1956, 180–81). Church and State are, in Ely’s opinion, not separated, but harmoniously work together in establishing social order.

Ely was active in the evangelical Chautauqua movement, a popular educational movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. He opened the “Christian Sociology” summer school and organized the Institute of Christian Sociology, which were Ely’s contribution to the Chautauqua movement. He was a close associate of many prominent Social Gospel leaders, like Reverends Washington Gladden (1836-1918), Walter Rauschenbusch(1861–1918), and Josiah Strong (1847-1916).

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 the idea got applied into practice, though never a classroom student of Ely’s, has always referred to Ely as his teacher. In addition, Ely was the teacher and mentor of such great names 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.
• This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is 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

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Richard_T._Ely  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Richard T. Ely"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.