Ralph Montgomery Easley (1856–1939) was an American journalist and political organizer. He was Director of the American political reform group, the National Civic Federation. Easley was born in

Frederick, Illinois Frederick is an unincorporated community in Schuyler County, Illinois, United States. Frederick is near the Illinois River, north of Beardstown. Frederick has a post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides ...

, but moved to Hutchinson, Kansas, in 1875, where he was a public school teacher, postmaster, and newspaper reporter. In 1883, he purchased and began editing the ''

Hutchinson Daily News ''The Hutchinson News'' is a daily newspaper serving the city of Hutchinson, Kansas, United States. The publication was awarded the 1965 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service "for its courageous and constructive campaign, culminating in 1964, to br ...

'' until 1891. In 1891, became a key figure in the Illinois Republican Party. Both of these positions served as important stepping stones in Easley’s career as a reformer and civic booster. His tenure as editor lasted until 1891, when Easley left Kansas and made his way back to Illinois. Here, he took charge of the “politicoeconomic department” of the '' Chicago Inter Ocean'', one of the Middle West’s leading urban newspapers. This position, which involved creating and administering employee welfare programs, put Easley in contact with many of Chicago’s leading civic reformers, and business, political, and labor leaders. In 1893 he became a founder and secretary of the political reform group, the

Chicago Civic Federation The Civic Federation is a Chicago-based non-partisan research organization focused on governments in the Chicago area and the state of Illinois. The Civic Federation's mission is to help local and state governments reduce their costs and improve ...

. In 1900, he left Chicago to found the National Civic Federation in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where he was the chairman of the executive council throughout the federation’s forty-five-year history In 1917, he married Gertrude Beeks Easley who continued to work with him at the National Civic Federation.

References

* Christopher J. Cyphers; ''The National Civic Federation and the Making of a New Liberalism, 1900-1915'' Praeger. 2002.

External links

National Civic Federation Records, 1894-1949 (PDF)
at the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Easley, Ralph 1856 births 1939 deaths American activists American male journalists People from Hutchinson, Kansas Writers from Kansas Illinois Republicans Kansas Republicans New York (state) Republicans

See also

References

External links