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| An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States | 
 enlarge | Author: Charles A. Beard
Publisher: Dover Publications
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $9.27
You Save: $5.68 (38%)
Buy New/Used from $8.92
Avg. Customer Rating:  (11 reviews)
Sales Rank: 95881
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.7
ISBN: 048643365X
Dewey Decimal Number: 330.97304
EAN: 9780486433653
ASIN: 048643365X
Publication Date: May 20, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
This famous study? one of the most influential in the area of American economic history? brought a halt to Americans' uncritical reverence for their country's revolutionary past. Questioning the Founding Fathers' motivations in drafting the Constitution, it viewed the results as a product of economic self-interest. Perhaps the most controversial books of its time.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 In need of an editor July 29, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I feel it best to summarize, in outline form, the positives and negatives of this book:
Positives
1.) Thuroughness: The author goes into tremendous detail to document not only how the people of each state (indeed, the people living in distinct *regions* of each state) reacted to the effort to draw up and ratify the Constitution, but also how their reactions (and ultimately, wether or not they supported the new government) tied into their economic interests (personalty vs realty), and thus determined if they approved or rejected the Constitution. On top of that, he examines each of the delegates to the convention to show what economic interests they had going into the convention that might have influenced their drafting of a new national government.
Negatives
1) Editing: Here are some examples of how this book could really have benefitted from having an editor:
a. there are pages in the book where footnotes are in German, French, or another foreign language; now maybe back in Beard's day, it was common for people to be bilingual or trilingual, but I imagine that's not so much the case today. So if you put in footnotes from a foreign language sources, and you want your readers to see how the material in the footnotes relate to your overall thesis of your book, then wouldn't it be immensly helpful to translate said footnotes for your readers?
b. page 34: "funded sixes", "deferred sixes", "funded threes", "deferred threes" .... what does any of that mean? I figured out that "sixes" and "threes" are interest rates, but I had to go to my dad, who's an accountant, to learn what "funded" and "deferred" meant. On the same page, Beard talks about pounds and shillings. Well, how about explaining how much a shilling was worth, relative to a pound, in those days. Was a shilling equal to what we know as a quarter? A dime? Half a dollar? It would've helped tremendously to have someone translate Beards words into layman terms for those of us who do not have an economic background.
c. The text in the book referred (I can't remember the page number) to a map showing the sections of a particular state that supported and fought against the Constitution, but there is not a single map in Beard's book. Where did it go? An editor would've spotted this and worked to correct it.
2) Dry reading: While most of this book is quite readable, some portions - particularly the chapters examining each state's delegates to the convention and the later fights within each state to ratify the document - are almost torturous to go through. Don't get me wrong, I still admire Beard's thuroughness in examining everything in detail, but he could've peppered his narrative to make it more interesting.
3) What's the point?: Historians and activists on the left (ie. Howard Zinn) have referred to Beard's work to document how the Constitution, and our current form of government in general, are inherently undemocratic and need to be "altered or abolished". But what's interesting, to me at least, is that while reading Beard's book, there didn't seem to be any of that same moral condemnation or calls for change - even after spending the entire book showing how the Constitution was an economic document meant to advance the interests of its supporters. So then one is left to ask, what was the point of writing the book? To simply do an objective historical study on the nature of the Constitution? To get people to stop treating the document as holy scripture written by men seeking to establish the best government possible for the American people, and view it more realistically? To provide historians with a reference source they could use to begin their own lines of inquiry?
I debated on giving this book 3 or 4 stars. On the one hand, 2 and 3 in the negatives column are minor complaints that are far outshined by the research that went into this book; but ultimately, I only gave it 3 stars because a book dealing with the economics of that period needs to be understandable to those without an economic background, and sadly, the author assumed the reader would already have that knowledge. I'd still recommend this book as a reference source - especially for those who wanted to start lines of research on individual convention delegates or state ratification efforts. I tend to think that Woody Holton's "Unruly Americans" does much of the same work that Beard did, but Holton ties his conclusions into why we have a Bill of Rights and also tried (albeit unsuccessfully at times) to translate economic terms in ways that lay people can understand.
 Revisionism, Long Since Discredited June 4, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book was the first major work of revisionist history published in the United States, and as such, its publication was a watershed event; it stimulated a tremendous amount of debate in academic circles by challenging long-held conventions regarding the American Founding. "Could it be," Beard asked, "that the Constitution, far from embodying its signers' higher ideals of individual freedom and liberty, in fact merely codified selfish, elitist property interests, and a constitutional system of systematic class exploitation to sustain them?"
The debate was a lively one, and was valuable in so far as it reminded academia that history should not be taken for granted. But ultimately, no one could deny that Beard's interpretation was grounded more in fancy than in fact, and that his book's thesis was absurd.
In academia, this absurdity has been agreed upon for at least the last two generations. "An Economic Interpretation" is therefore notable for the historical context of its publication. In its substance, though, the book is never taken seriously anymore, nor should it be.
 have to read May 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
whether or not you agree with what is said, you must read for its historical significance alone
Just because you're paranoid.... May 5, 2006
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
A noted historian of the early twentieth century, Charles Beard was notorious for his non-traditional interpretations of economics as the driving force behind major historical events. In 1913, at the time of the original publication of this book, he was even considered to be a bit radical. Certainly, the main thrust of his monograph ruffled a few feathers, as it called into question the motives of our founding fathers, placing their feet firmly on mortal, fallible, self-interested grounds, as opposed to the lofty pedestals where they were usually enshrined.
Beard argued that although the delegates to the Convention had many diverse interests, they could actually be grouped into two main categories of economic self-interests: mercantile and land ownership. From a detailed analysis of their biographies, Beard identified a pattern that indicated an economic line of demarcation between Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Those with large property assets or investments in trade unanimously supported the fledgling Constitution, while its chief detractors were the debtors, that majority of new Americans who were among the "have-nots" and who placed more faith in the loose confines of the Articles of Confederation.
This book offers a compelling array of data, which the author himself refers to as a "long and arid survey' with the "nature of a catalogue". However, far from benumbing the mind of the reader, this use of simple exposition allows one to assess the proffered information and arrive on one's own at a conclusion that validates the author's thesis. Beard lists the material assets of each delegate, as well as their class status; not one was from a farming or mechanical class. Paired with evidence that many (including George Washington) were land speculators in the Northwest Territory, and that the implementation of the Articles of Confederation suppressed land values, a damning stain of greed and self-interest threatens to taint the motives behind the drafting of the Constitution.
Beard goes as far as to intimate that the creation of a constitutional government was in effect a "coup d'etat" in which a wealthy interested minority abused and exceeded the authority granted them by the government in order to create a legal document which would bolster their businesses and profits. Evidence is supplied that indicates delegates were restricted by property ownership, cash assets, and in some states by religion. Clearly, only a certain type of man was to be permitted to have a voice in the decision. When the debate opened up upon the quest for ratification, Beard offers anecdotal evidence of goon squads and thuggery to force votes into the Federalist camp. Clearly, this is a view of the nation's origins that goes against primary school heroic notions of 1787.
The most surprising thing about this book is that it was originally written in 1913. Charles Beard was often considered to be controversial amongst his fellow historians. Yet this monograph is shocking in that it is basically an accusation that the founding fathers indulged in a self-motivated and greedy overthrow of a government, which although weak and decentralized, was the preference of the downtrodden masses. He indicates that simply because future generations may have benefited from the decision s taken in 1787, the decisions were not necessarily just.
In an era where conspiracy theories abound and Americans are ever eager to point the finger of blame at any select few, this book seems to fit popular tastes. Yet it would be foolish to dismiss the evidence supplied in this text as pure conjecture or the patterns as easy coincidence. Even today this founding document can be used to interpret the rights of the individual as equal to the rights of a corporation; surely it must have had in its origins the seeds of economic self-interest. Based on the conclusions made apparent in this book, it is hard not to view the Constitution as an economic document, securing in cold verbiage the rights of the wealthy creditors, while incidentally providing for the protection of the debtors. Madison's noble sentiments in Federalist #10 ring hollow when taken in equal parts with Charles Beards Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States.
A Good Place to Begin Thinking About What it Means to be an American February 23, 2006
14 out of 18 found this review helpful
Jumping to the end of Charles Beard's book, his conclusions state the following:
i) The US constitution was enacted to protect the interests of: a) the moneyed classes (the rich), b) the bond and stock holding classes (the rich speculators), c) the manufacturing interests (rich capitalists), and trade and shipping interests (the rich capitalist speculators).
ii) The constitution was the result of an elite group of men representing the aforementioned interests.
iii) The constitutional convention held in Philadelphia was organized undemocratically by the aforementioned elite group of men to secure the aforementioned interests.
iv) Those not holding the aforementioned interests (the poor) were excluded from participation in the constitutional process.
v) Those participating in the Philadelphia convention personally benefited from the outcome of that convention (the constitution).
vi) The US constitution is a document protecting private property rights over that of a democratic people and/or its government.
vii) These assertions are on record as evidenced by the property and monetary interests of those who proposed and passed the US constitution.
viii) In the ratification of the US constitution, 3/4 of the qualified voters were excluded by some means or another, aiding the 1/4 who benefited from the passage of the constitution.
ix) The ratification of the US constitution was further narrowed down to where only 1/6 of the qualified voters participated in its passing.
x) Therefore, the majority of qualified voters did not participate in the ratification of the US constitution.
xi) This 1/6 who ratified the constitution were the same minority who held large holdings in money, bonds and stocks, manufacturing, and trade and shipping.
xii) The main societal divisions in the ratification of the US constitution were among classes cited in i) and the farming and debtor classes at that time.
xiii) The constitution was therefore not created by "the people," but by the those motivated by the monetary interests cited in i).
To see why Beard thought this you must read this book, which is a laundry list of those participating in the Philadelphia convention and the ratification process, and a catalogue of their documented monetary interests.
After reading Beard, then you can read the introduction by Forrest McDonald holding Beard's thesis up to the crucible of historical criticism.
After reading Beard and McDonald you can begin to reflect on the implications of Beard's materialist hypothesis and the host of corroborating and refuting philosophical considerations, then form your own conclusions, then repeat the cycle over and over.
This is probably a good departure point to begin examining your personal beliefs and expectations of what it means to be an American.
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