Richard Theodore Ely (1854–1943) was an American economist, author, and leader of the Progressive movement who called for more government intervention in order to reform what they perceived as the injustices of capitalism, especially regarding factory conditions, compulsory education, child labor, and labor unions. Ely is best remembered as a founder and the first Secretary of the American Economic Association, as a founder and secretary of the C...
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Richard Theodore Ely (1854–1943) was an American economist, author, and leader of the Progressive movement who called for more government intervention in order to reform what they perceived as the injustices of capitalism, especially regarding factory conditions, compulsory education, child labor, and labor unions. Ely is best remembered as a founder and the first Secretary of the American Economic Association, as a founder and secretary of the Christian Social Union, and as the author of a series of widely-read books on the organized labor movement, socialism, and other social questions.
Ely was born April 13, 1854, in Ripley, New York, the eldest of three children of Ezra Sterling Ely and the former Harriet Gardner Mason. His parents were Presbyterian but Ely transferred his affiliation to the Episcopal Church when in college.
Ely attended Columbia University in New York City, from which he received a Bachelor's degree in 1876 and a Master's degree in 1879. He received a Ph.D. in...
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