An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States - Softcover

Beard, Charles A.

3.69

444 ratings by Goodreads

9781539800460: An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1539800466 ISBN 13: 9781539800460

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016

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In this superb text, Charles Austin Beard meticulously and comprehensively analyses and explains the economic underpinnings of the United States Constitution.

Examining the conditions which prevailed for all residents of the thirteen colonies in the late 18th century, Beard explains - among other things - the significant reservations and outright opposition to the Constitution many Americans felt at the time. Their concerns ranged from how the individual articles and provisions of the document may impact and even endanger livelihoods, to the precise wording behind each separate article.

Together with his consideration of the economic activity and trade at the era, Beard considers the views of the Founding Fathers, many of whom had commented on aspects of the incipient Constitution. The ratification of the Constitution throughout the colonies, and the various obstacles which had to be overcome - in particular within the state of New York - are detailed. Popular votes were held in several of the states, the tallies of which are also included and broken down into separate voter blocs.

This edition contains all the original tables and charts with no abridgement made to the text. Whether you are a general reader interested in the history of the U.S. Constitution, or a student or scholar of economics or law curious about the worldly context in which this historic document was written and implemented, Charles Austin Beard's valuable analysis is worthy of reading.

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About the Author:

Louis Filler (1911-1998) was a Fulbright fellow at the University of Bristol and taught as a visiting professor in literature and history departments from the City University of New York to the University of California, San Francisco. His books include the classic Muckrakers, best-selling Crusade Against Slavery, Dictionary of American Social Reform, Unknown, Edwin Markham, Dictionary of American Conservatism, Vanguards and Followers, Distinguished Shades: Americans Whose Lives Live On,and Abolition and Social Justice in the Era of Reform, among many others, as well as biographies of Randolph Bourne and David Graham Phillips.

Charles A. Beard (1874-1948) is regarded as one of the most influential American historians in the first half of the twentieth century. He is famous for his evaluation of the founding fathers of the United States, who he believed were motivated by economics as opposed to philosophical principles. Some of his works include An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, Economic Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy, and The Administration and Politics of Tokyo.

Review:

"Here again is the original constitutional skeptic to remind Americans that our republic's authors had not only intellects but interests. Charles Beard set out to jolt his contemporaries out of their pious admiration of the constitution's framers. His economic interpretation remains a lively, surprisingly humorous and sharp-witted analysis of the nation's beginnings. Reading it today, the book aims a keen and pointed thrust at the originalism of our own age." (Professor Eric Rauchway, University of California Davis Department of History)

"One hundred years after it first appeared, Charles Beard's An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution still commands our attention as a classic of historical scholarship -- not because every view Beard put forward has stood the test of time but because the questions he raised about the intersections of economic and political power are just as relevant today as when he wrote." (Professor Eric Foner, Columbia University Department of History)

"This is the book that started us all on the journey to understanding the complex motives and conflicting interests that shaped our constitution. 100 years after its publication, it still has the power to excite and exasperate, to stir fierce debate and to inspire new interpretations." (Carol Berkin, Presidential Professor of History, Emerita, Baruch College & The Graduate Center, CUNY)

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