Charles A. Beard

Charles A. Beard
Beard in 1917
Born	Charles Austin Beard (1874-11-27)November 27, 1874 Knightstown, Indiana, US
Died	September 1, 1948(1948-09-01) (aged 73) New Haven, Connecticut, US
Spouse	Mary Ritter Beard ​ (m. 1900)​
Academic background
Alma mater	DePauw University Columbia University
Thesis	The Office of Justice of the Peace in England (1904)
Academic advisors	Frederick York Powell[1]
Academic work
Discipline	History political science
School or tradition	Progressive historiography
Notable works	An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States (1913) The Rise of American Civilization (1927)
Influenced	William Appleman Williams[2]

Charles Austin Beard (November 27, 1874 – September 1, 1948) was an American historian and professor, who wrote primarily during the first half of the 20th century. A history professor at Columbia University, Beard's influence is primarily due to his publications in the fields of history and political science. His works included a radical re-evaluation of the Founding Fathers of the United States, whom he believed to be more motivated by economics than by philosophical principles. Beard's most influential book, An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States (1913), has been the subject of great controversy ever since its publication. While it has been frequently criticized for its methodology and conclusions, it was responsible for a wide-ranging reinterpretation of early American history.^[3]

An icon of the progressive school of historical interpretation, his reputation suffered during the Cold War when the assumption of economic class conflict was dropped by most American historians. The consensus historian Richard Hofstadter concluded in 1968, "Today Beard's reputation stands like an imposing ruin in the landscape of American historiography. What was once the grandest house in the province is now a ravaged survival."^[4] Hofstadter nevertheless praised Beard by saying he was "foremost among the American historians of his or any generation in the search for a usable past."^[5]