Economic Interpretation of the Constitution

Beard begins with a survey of what he calls the three schools of interpretation that have dominated American historical research and generalization (1941, p. 1). He associates the first school with Bancroft, who interpreted American history by reference to the moral imperatives of divine guidance. According to this school the achievements of American national life, which would include the adoption of the federal constitution and the principles it incorporated, were generated through the moral principles of a divine higher power. Beard largely rejects this school, but it is interesting to note that

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ls to their economic interests. Beard states that "action is the immediate interest of the dominant party; and whenever it desires to make an economic gain through governmental functioning, it must have, of course, a system endowed with the requisite powers" (1941, p. 155). As examples, he offers protective tariffs, ship subsidies and other such "paternalistic" legislation. More recent examples would be the American steel tariffs that were challenged by the World Trade organization and agricultural subsidies. Beard contends that such legislation is often justified as being for the general good. But he argues against that justification, maintaining instead that such legislation is meaningless until one examines who in fact benefits from it. Then, he argues "[w]hen [such legislation] is so analyzed, immediate and remote beneficiaries are discovered; and the former are usually found to have been the dynamic element in securing the legislation" (Beard, 1941, p. 155). Beard's analysis clearly remains relevant today. For example, the energy bill drafted by the Bush Administration came under significant fire for relying too heavily on fossil fuels as a continuing source of America's energy. It is well-known, however, that the Bu
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Approximate Word count = 2414
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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