Charles Beard
Charles Beard’s An Economic Interpretation of the U.S Constitution
Charles Beard’s book, An Economic Interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, was published in 1913 and soon became one of the most controversial literary works of its time. Beard’s main thesis in this book is essentially that the Founding Fathers chose the specific format of the Constitution of the United States to protect their personal financial interests. Beard then goes on to argue that the Constitution was written by an “elite” attempting to safeguard their own assets and financial status. Beard was expanding on Carl L. Becker’s thesis of class conflict. In the eyes of Beard, the Constitution was created by the Founding Fathers as a “counter revolution” that ran against the wishes of farmers and laborers. Beard’s theory and his publication of this book were so controversial because it seemed to demean the Constitution and everything it stood for, which angered politicians and most of the legal community, at least those who didn’t ignore it completely. However, many historians and history professors seemed to recognize it and accept it. Many people were angered by Beard’s theory because, since it disparaged the Constitution and Founding Fathers, it seemed to put down almost everything our country stands for. Taking a sacred piece of history that started our nation and trampling on it by saying that it was nothing more than rich men trying to save their bank accounts and put down the common man is bound to upset more than just a few people. One of Beard’s main critics of the 20th century is a man named Forrest McDonald. McDonald uses his study of the voting habits and financial and economic concerns of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to prove that their motives were not financial-based. He asserts that the majority of the delegates who had public securities were Antifederalists. He concludes his study by saying, “Anyone wishing to rewrite the history of those
Charles Beard’s book, An Economic Interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, was published in 1913 and soon became one of the most controversial literary works of its time. Beard’s main thesis in this book is essentially that the Founding Fathers chose the specific format of the Constitution of the United States to protect their personal financial interests. Beard then goes on to argue that the Constitution was written by an “elite” attempting to safeguard their own assets and financial status. Beard was expanding on Carl L. Becker’s thesis of class conflict. In the eyes of Beard, the Constitution was created by the Founding Fathers as a “counter revolution” that ran against the wishes of farmers and laborers. Beard’s theory and his publication of this book were so controversial because it seemed to demean the Constitution and everything it stood for, which angered politicians and most of the legal community, at least those who didn’t ignore it completely. However, many historians and history professors seemed to recognize it and accept it. Many people were angered by Beard’s theory because, since it disparaged the Constitution and Founding Fathers, it seemed to put down almost everything our country stands for. Taking a sacred piece of history that started our nation and trampling on it by saying that it was nothing more than rich men trying to save their bank accounts and put down the common man is bound to upset more than just a few people. One of Beard’s main critics of the 20th century is a man named Forrest McDonald. McDonald uses his study of the voting habits and financial and economic concerns of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to prove that their motives were not financial-based. He asserts that the majority of the delegates who had public securities were Antifederalists. He concludes his study by saying, “Anyone wishing to rewrite the history of those