Braude was born on August 11, 1920, in Chicago, Illinois, the only son of Benjamin and Rose Braude, and attended the University of Illinois in 1937. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in political science. He was a research assistant with the Cowles Commission for Research in Economics in 1941 and an instructor in social science at the University of Chicago in 1942. He owned and operated small businesses and a small investment firm until he was elected to the City Council in 1965.