Beard published An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution elaborating on his profound and realist opinion that the structure of the United States Constitution was manipulated by the personal financial and property interests of the members at the convention such as public securities, manufacturing, trading, and shipping. Through close examination to tax and census records and biographical sources, Beard concludes that the members of the Constitutional Convention consisted primarily of a cohesive group of economic elites who formed the foundation of America's government to benefit and protect the security of their personal property. In his book, he argues that the members of the Convention were indifferent about the future economic well being of America as long as the wealthy stayed wealthy, and he supported his thesis through citations of the Federalist Papers, particularly Madison's Federalist No. 10. One of Madison's stronger points for the ratification of the Constitution, Federalist No. 10 states that the Constitution itself governs the potential damage which factions uphold. In his thesis, Charles Beard leaves out crucial claims presented by Madison in Federalist No. 10, which explains the Framer's reasoning for the emphasis on economics in the Constitution, ultimately undermining the validity of Beard's claim that the Framer's personal economic interests influenced the outcome of the Constitution. .
When drafting the Constitution, the Founders hoped to veer away from traditional political activity consisting of the more dangerous sources of factions and, with the implementation of the Constitution, started to focus on commerce as a broader treatment for the overall well being of America. Beard claims that Madison believes "the theories of government which men entertain are emotional reactions to their property interests" (Beard 121). Here he is saying that the approval of certain aspects of the new form of government is directly influenced by ownership of property.
