Parker and Christian join Matt Christman for a discussion on the class dynamics of the founding of the US, using Charles Beard’s book An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States as a jumping off point. They cover the main idea of the book: how the Founding Fathers designed the Constitution and the federal institutions to ensure their class interests after the Independence War. They also discuss how other events of the time such as Shay’s Rebellion showed the limits of the Constitution, how it managed to survive even the Civil War, and what it means to call for a constitutional convention in the present.
