Charles Beard
1874-1948
Beliefs
• Constitution was the workings of Economic Elites.
• Authored the Economic Origins of Jeffersonian
Democracy and The Economic basis of Politics. 1915
and 1922.
• Founded School of Social Research after World War I.
• Resigned from Columbia university in 1917 after two
colleagues were fired for opposing World War I.
• Committed to studying social justice and reform and the
study of economics and social factors.
• Isolationist during WWII and very critical of FDR’s foreign
policy, especially toward Japan.
Economic Interpretation of the
United States.
• Beard’s contentions?:
• Better off urban and commercial classes, especially those with IOUS
issued by gov’t to pay War debt, favored constitution because they
stood to gain from it economically.
• Framers were economic elite. Constitution transferred power from
debtors to creditors.
• Uses Federalist 10 to support thesis-unequal distribution of property
causes factions?
• Who benefits?- Wealthy merchant elites. Studies from 1950’s and
1980’s saw no convincing pattern to Beard’s claims.
• More related to position of states, not individuals.
Roche
• Founders were subversive to status quobut only to the extent that the states went
along with it.
• The founders plotted- but mostly according
to prevailing rules of political struggle.
• Founders were superb democratic
politicians working on public opinionopposition bumbled.
• - Employed Father figure in Washington
• Roche was an adviser to LBJ and JFK.
Roche
• Had talented leadership and developed a
network
• Had skill at preempting the opposition-kept
them on the defensive
• Portrayed themselves as skilled
spokesmen for American nationalism
Roche
• View of The Federalist- post hoc argumentationthe symmetry of their arguments were made.
Federalism is the product of compromise, not
ideology.
• Convention started with an ideological
agreement to the essentials for stronger national
government-states would surrender powerdebated how much. Evidence- General
agreement to secrecy and muted reaction to
Virginia Plan.