In his piercing introduction to An Economic Interpretation the author wrote that "whoever leaves economic pressures out of history or out of discussion of public questions is in mortal peril of substituting mythology for reality." It was Beard's view that the founding fathers, especially Madison, Jay, and Hamilton, never made such a miscalculation. Indeed, these statesmen placed themselves among the great practitioners of all ages and gave instructions to succeeding generations in the art of government by their vigorous deployment of classical political economy. In this new printing of a...

Economic interpretations of history are irrevocably identifi ed with the name of Charles A. Beard. This is mainly due to his early book An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States (1913). Yet, in Beard's later work, The Economic Basis of Politics (1922), he articulates the main principles of his method and argues for its applicability to the understanding of current events. In this brief survey of Western political philosophy and contemporary constitutional arrangements, Beard concludes that it is well established doctrine that "there is a vital relation between the...

First published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.