Ely Moore

Who was Ely Moore?

Ely Moore was a Jacksonian U.S. Representative from New York.

Moore was born near Belvidere, New Jersey. He attended public schools, and then moved to New York and studied medicine. He became a printer and an editor of a New York City labor paper.

In 1836, Moore performed one of his last speeches. It was a stunning defense of Workers, Unions, and the Free Labor System. His stunning oration was in reply to an insulting speech by Waddy Thompson, Jr. of South Carolina that called northern laborers "thieves who would raise wages through insurrection or by the equally terrible process of the ballot-box." Moore's speech contained stirring aggravation at the unjust moneyed aristocracy, Nicholas Biddle, and the lack of equality of the wage earning worker. During his most heated rhetoric he collapsed onto the podium.

Moore headed and established the General Trades Union of New York. The GTU was the first Union containing multiple trades. In 1834 Ely Moore became President of the National Trade Union. The NTU spanned from Boston to St. Louis. The NTU helped to establish the 10 hour work day in many states. New York had already established the 10 hour work day.