Writing the Trump Years Into History

"Beard was best-known for " An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States," from 1913, in which he made the controversial argument that the framers had been chiefly interested in consolidating their own wealth. The president of Beard's own university, Columbia, denounced him. So did very many other people. Warren G. Harding, then publisher of an Ohio newspaper, called Beard's book "libelous, vicious, and damnable.""

"In the end, Beard's interpretation of the Constitution did not prevail-his evidence was not altogether persuasive-but his provocation helped usher in an era of constitutional renewal in the United States. Meanwhile, Beard met the challenge of political repression with integrity. In 1917, after Columbia University fired members of the faculty who were opposed to American entry into the war in Europe, Beard, who supported the war, resigned in protest."

"From his farm in Connecticut, he went on to write many other books, and to contribute regularly to magazines. Again and again, he spoke out against what he believed to be creeping forms of tyranny in American life. In the nineteen-thirties, when Wi"

Charles A. Beard became known for an economic interpretation of the Constitution, claiming the framers were chiefly motivated by consolidating their own wealth. The argument provoked strong condemnation from institutions and prominent critics, and it did not fully persuade later assessments. Even so, the controversy helped stimulate constitutional renewal in the United States. Beard responded to political repression with integrity when Columbia University fired faculty members who opposed American entry into World War I; Beard resigned in protest while supporting the war. After leaving, he continued writing from his Connecticut farm and contributed regularly to magazines. He repeatedly spoke out against what he saw as growing forms of tyranny in American life.

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