ABSTRACT
The battle of the schools, culminating in the formation of the American Economic Association (AEA), posed a serious question for all economists: what sort of advocacy, within what limits, was compatible with the professional social scientist's role? Between 1884 and 1886 laissez-faire and new school economists engaged in a public debate that became increasingly acrimonious as insults and accusations were exchanged. The public debate began in 1884 when Ely published an account of the differences between the old and the new in political economy. By recognizing Ely as the leader of the revisionist school, Newcomb greatly enhanced his opponent's importance and made it easier for other revisionists to fall into a similar pattern of deference. In accepting Ely's interpretive framework, he endorsed the argument that two diametrically opposed schools of economists in fact existed. As economists trained in the historical school acquired academic positions, several of them were invited to join the AEA.
