Early years Ely was born in 1854 in
Ripley,
New York, the oldest child of Ezra Sterling and Harriet Gardner (Mason) Ely. He grew up on his family's 90-acre farm near
Fredonia, New York, carrying wood, milking cows, churning butter, and picking rock in the fields. He later recalled that life on the farm taught him much. Richard's father was a self-taught engineer, and young Richard helped him lay out a railroad in
Pennsylvania. The same year, he received a
Doctor of Philosophy degree in
economics from the
University of Heidelberg, where he studied with
Karl Knies, who belonged to the
historical school of economics, and
Johann Kaspar Bluntschli. He also received a
Doctorate of Laws from
Hobart College in 1892. Ely also founded Lambda Alpha International in 1930. Its purposes included the encouragement of the study of
land economics at universities; the promotion of a closer affiliation between its members and the professional world of land economics; and the furtherance of the highest ideals of scholarship and honesty in business and the universities. Ely is known as the "Father of Land Economics". In April 1891, Ely was a founder and the first Secretary of the
Christian Social Union, a membership organization advocating the application of
Christian principles to social problems. From 1892 until 1925, he was professor of Political Economy and director of the School of Economics, Political Science, and History at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison. In 1894,
Oliver Elwin Wells,
Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin and
ex officio member of the
University's Board of Regents, attempted to expel Ely from his chair at Wisconsin for purportedly teaching
socialistic doctrines. This effort failed, with the
Wisconsin state
Board of Regents issuing a ringing proclamation in favor of
academic freedom, acknowledging the necessity of freely "
sifting and winnowing" competing claims. In 1906, Ely co-founded the
American Association for Labor Legislation (AALL) with other economists. In 1925, Ely moved to
Northwestern University in
Chicago, where he accepted a position as professor of economics. He remained at Northwestern until retiring in 1933.
Political views Although regarded as a radical by his detractors on the political right, Ely in fact opposed socialism. "I condemn alike," he declared, "that individualism that would allow the state no room for industrial activity, and that socialism which would absorb in the state the functions of the individual." He argued that socialism was not needed, and "the alternative of socialism is our complex socio-economic order, which is based, in the main, upon private property." He warned that the proper "balance between private and public enterprise" is "menaced by socialism, on the one hand, and by
plutocracy, on the other." Ely's critique of socialism made him a political target of the socialists themselves. In his 1910 book
Ten Blind Leaders of the Blind, Arthur Morrow Lewis acknowledged that Ely was a "fair opponent" who had "done much to obtain a hearing for [socialism] among the unreasonable", but charged he was merely one of those "bourgeois intellectuals" who were "not sufficiently intellectual to grasp the nature of our position." Ely was a product of the German historical school with an emphasis on evolution to new forms, and never accepted the
marginalist revolution that was transforming economic theory in Britain and the U.S. He was strongly influenced by
Herbert Spencer and strongly favored competition over
monopoly or
state ownership, with regulation to "secure its benefits" and "mitigate its evils". What was needed was "to raise its moral and ethical level." But whereas Spencer believed that free competition was best served by deregulation and a smaller state, Ely believed that more regulation and a more interventionist state was the policy to follow. Also on
social Darwinism, Spencer believed that the state should not get involved in supporting one ethnic group over another, while Ely believe the state should support white "
Nordic" people against people of other races (in line with the opinions of his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin,
Edward Alsworth Ross and
Charles R. Van Hise). Ely favored
eugenics, arguing the "unfit" should be kept from reproducing. He argued that blacks were "for the most part grownup children, and should be treated as such." Ely did support labor unions and opposed child labor, as did many leaders of the
Progressive Movement, and also some conservatives, such as
Mark Hanna. Ely was close to the
Social Gospel movement, emphasizing that the Gospel of Christ applied to society as a whole, not merely individuals; he worked hard to convince churches to advocate on behalf of workers. Ely strongly influenced his friend
Walter Rauschenbusch, a leading spokesman for the Social Gospel. During
World War I, Ely worked to build popular support for the American war effort, taking part in the activities of the
League to Enforce Peace. He headed the committee of arrangements for a "Win the War Convention" held in Madison on November 8–10, 1918. Ely's political activities during World War I included his campaign against Senator
Robert M. La Follette. Though a Progressive, La Follette did not support the war, and so Ely regarded him as unfit for office. Ely tried to have him removed from the
United States Senate and end his influence in Wisconsin politics. Ely edited Macmillan's ''Citizen's Library of Economics, Politics, and Sociology
and Social Science Textbook Series'' and Crowell's
Library of Economics and Politics. He was a frequent contributor to periodical literature, both scientific and popular.
Death and legacy Richard Ely died in
Old Lyme, Connecticut, on October 4, 1943, and was buried at
Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison. A large portion of his library was purchased by
Louisiana State University and is now a part of LSU's Special Collections division. Ely's papers are housed at the
Wisconsin Historical Society. The American Economic Association instituted the annual "Richard T. Ely Lecture" in 1960 in his memory, which, unlike the Association's other honors, is open to non-American economists. It was renamed the AEA Distinguished Lecture series in 2020. His former home, now known as the
Richard T. Ely House, is on the
National Register of Historic Places. The television series
Profiles in Courage did an episode in 1964 titled "Richard T. Ely" about the "sifting and winnowing" incident. Ely was played by
Dan O'Herlihy; Wells by
Edward Asner; and Ely's attorney, former Congressman
Burr Jones, by
Leonard Nimoy. == Works ==