Charles Beard
 Charles Beard    ( historian) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 27, 1874 |
| Died | September 1, 1948 (Age 73) |
| Nationality | US |
US historian | |
Charles A. Beard was an American historian and professor, who was considered one of the most respected American historians of the first half of the 20th century.
Career
Beard had parallel careers as an historian and political scientist. He was active in the American Political Science Association and was elected as its president in 1926.[1] He was also a member of the American Historical Association and became its president in 1933.
Although he had strongly supported the US entry into World War 1, during the 1930s, Beard strongly opposed American policies and actions that threatened to lead to the nation’s involvement in the [[Second World War]].
World War 2
When Beard attempted to publish a book critically analyzing America’s entrance into World War II, publishers shut their doors to him and only his personal friendship with the head of Yale University Press allowed his 1948 volume President Roosevelt and the Coming of the War, 1941 to even appear in print.
"Beard's main argument is that both Democratic and Republican leaders, but Roosevelt above all, worked quietly in 1940 and 1941 to insinuate the United States into the Second World War. Basing his work on available congressional records and administrative reports, Beard concludes that FDR's image as a neutral, peace-loving leader was a smokescreen, behind which he planned for war against Germany and Japan even well before the attack on Pearl Harbor."[2]
A Quote by Charles Beard
| Page | Quote | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodrow Wilson | “Nothing like official sanction was given to the idea that the United States is first and foremost a democracy until Woodrow Wilson, in making the war against the Central Powers a war for democracy, gave the stamp of wide popularity to the idea that the United States is, first and foremost, a democracy.” | 1943 | The Republic |
