September 3, 2025 • 14 mins
Charles Austin Beard stands as one of the most pivotal American historians of the early 20th century, having penned hundreds of influential monographs, textbooks, and interpretive studies in history and political science. A proud graduate of DePauw University in 1898, he met and later married Mary Ritter Beard, a trailblazer in womens rights and one of the founders of Kappa Alpha Theta. Many of their works were collaborative efforts, reflecting their shared passions for feminism and labor movements, as seen in her notable book, *Woman as a Force in History* (1946). In 1921, the Beards released their groundbreaking *History of the United States*, which was praised for its innovative approach, treating topics thematically rather than chronologically. This method allowed for an exploration of movements, background contexts, and the interconnectedness of social, economic, and political forces. Their goal was to empower students to grasp the essence of American society and its place within global civilization. The books clarity and engaging style have established it as a top-tier resource for both students and the general public.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. History of the United States by
Charles A. Beard and Mary Ridderbeard, Part one, Section nine.
(00:22):
The evolution in political institutions. Two very distinct lines of
development appeared in colonial politics. The one, exalting royal rights
and aristocratic privileges, was the drift toward provincial government through
royal officers appointed in England. The other, leading toward democracy
and self government, was the growth in the power of
(00:44):
the popular legislative Assembly. Each movement gave impetus to the other,
with increasing force during the passing years, until at last
the final collision between the two ideals of government came
in the War of Independence. The provinces of the thirteen
English colonies, eight were royal provinces in seventeen seventy six,
(01:06):
with governors appointed by the King. Virginia passed under the
direct rule of the Crown in sixteen twenty four when
the charter of the London Company was annulled. The Massachusetts
Bay Corporation lost its charter in sixteen eighty four, and
the new instrument granted seven years later, stripped the colonists
of the right to choose their chief executive. In the
early decades of the eighteenth century, both the Carolinas were
(01:29):
given the provincial instead of the proprietary form. New Hampshire
severed from Massachusetts in sixteen seventy nine, and Georgia, surrendered
by the Trustees in seventeen fifty two, went into the
hands of the crown. New York, transferred to the Duke
of York on its capture from the Dutch in sixteen
sixty four, became a province when he took the title
(01:51):
of James the Second in sixteen eighty five. New Jersey,
after remaining for nearly forty years under proprietors, was brought
directly under the king in seventeen o two. Maryland, Pennsylvania,
and Delaware, although they retained their proprietary character until the Revolution,
were in some respects like the royal colonies, for their
(02:11):
governors were as independent of popular choice as worth they
appointees of King George. Only two colonies, Rhode Island and Connecticut,
retained full self government. On the eve of the Revolution.
They alone had governors and legislators entirely of their own choosing.
The chief officer of the royal province was the governor,
who enjoyed high and important powers, which he naturally sought
(02:34):
to augment at every turn. He enforced the laws, and,
usually with the consent of a council, appointed the civil
and military officers. He granted pardons and reprieves. He was
head of the highest court. He was commander in chief
of the militia. He levied troops for defense, and enforced
martial law in time of invasion, war, and rebellion. In
(02:56):
all the provinces except Massachusetts. He named the councilors who
composed the upper house of the legislature, and was likely
to choose those who favored his claims. He summoned, adjourned,
and dissolved the Popular Assembly, or the lower House. He
laid before it the projects of law desired by the Crown,
and he vetoed measures which he thought objectionable. Here were
(03:17):
in America all the elements of royal prerogative against which
Hampden had protested and Cromwell had battled in England. Illustration
the Royal Governor's Palace at newbern The colonial governors were
generally surrounded by a body of office seekers and hunters
for land grants. Some of them were noble men of
broken estates who had come to America to improve their fortunes.
(03:41):
The pretensions of this circle, graded on colonial nerves, and
privileges granted to them, often at the expense of colonists,
did much to deepen popular antipathy to the British government.
Favors extended two adherents of the established church displeased dissenters.
The reappearance of this formidable union of church and state
from which they had fled stirred anew the ancient wrath
(04:04):
against that combination. The colonial assembly, coincident with the drift
toward administration through royal governors, was the second and opposite tenancy, namely,
a steady growth in the practice of self government. The
voters of England had long been accustomed to share in
taxation and lawmaking through representatives in parliament, and the idea
(04:25):
was early introduced in America. Virginia was only twelve years
old sixteen nineteen when its first representative assembly appeared. As
the towns of Massachusetts multiplied and it became impossible for
all the members of the corporation to meet at one place.
The representative idea was adopted in sixteen thirty three. The
(04:45):
River towns of Connecticut formed a representative system under their
Fundamental Orders of sixteen thirty nine, and the entire colony
was given a royal charter in sixteen sixty two. Generosity,
as well as practical considerations in induced such proprietors as
Lord Baltimore and William Penn to invite their colonists to
share in the government as soon as any considerable settlements
(05:08):
were made. Thus, by one process or another, every one
of the colonies secured a popular Assembly. It is true
that in the provision for popular elections, the suffrage was
finally restricted to property owners or taxpayers with a leaning
toward the freehold qualification. In Virginia, the rural voter had
to be a freeholder owning at least fifty acres of
(05:30):
land if there was no house on it, or twenty
five acres with a house twenty five feet square. In Massachusetts,
the voter for member of the Assembly under the Charter
of sixteen ninety one had to be a freeholder of
an estate worth forty shillings a year at least, or
of other property to the value of forty pounds sterling.
(05:51):
In Pennsylvania, the suffrage was granted to freeholders owning fifty
acres or more of land well seated twelve acres cleared,
and to other persons worthy at least fifty pounds in
lawful money. Restrictions like these undoubtedly excluded from the suffrage
a very considerable number of men, particularly the mechanics and
artisans of the towns, who were by no means content
(06:13):
with their position. Nevertheless, it was relatively easy for any
man to acquire a small freehold, so cheap and abundant
was land, and in fact a large proportion of the
colonists were landowners. Thus the assemblies, in spite of the
limited suffrage, acquired a democratic tone. The popular character of
the assemblies increased as they became engaged in battles with
(06:35):
the royal and proprietary governors. When called upon by the
executive to make provision for the support of the administration,
the legislature took advantage of the opportunity to make terms
in the interests of the taxpayers. It made annual, not permanent,
grants of money to pay official salaries, and then insisted
upon electing a treasurer to dole it out. Thus the
(06:56):
colonists learned some of the mysteries of public finance, as
well as the management of rapacious officials. The legislature also
used its power over money grants to force the governor
to sign bills which he would otherwise have vetoed contests
between legislatures and governors. As may be imagined, many and
bitter were the contests between the royal and proprietary governors
(07:19):
and the colonial assemblies. Franklin relates an amusing story of
how the Pennsylvania Assembly held in one hand to bill
for the executive to sign, and in the other hand
the money to pay his salary. Then, with sly humor,
Franklin adds, quote, do not, my courteous reader, take pet
at our proprietary constitution for these our bargain and sale
(07:40):
proceedings in legislation. It is a happy country where justice
and what was your own before can be had for
ready money. It is another addition to the value of money,
and of course another spur to industry. Every land is
not so blessed end quote. It must not be thought, however,
that every governor got off as easey Lea's Franklin's tale implies,
(08:02):
on the contrary, the legislatures, like Caesar, fed upon meat
that made them great, and steadily encroached upon executive prerogatives
as they tried out and found their strength. If we
may believe contemporary laments, the power of the crown in
America was diminishing when it was struck down altogether in
New York. The friends of the governor complained in seventeen
(08:23):
forty seven that quote, the inhabitants of plantations are generally
educated in Republican principles. Upon Republican principles, all is conducted.
Little more than a shadow of royal authority remains in
the northern colonies. End quote here quote echoed the governor
of South Carolina the following year, quote, leveling principles prevail.
(08:47):
The frame of the civil government is unhinged. A governor,
if he would be idolized, must betray his trust. The
people have got their whole administration in their hands. The
election of the members of the assemblies by ballot not
civil posts only, but all ecclesiastical preferments are in the
disposal or election of the people. Though baffled by the
(09:10):
leveling principles of the colonial assemblies. The governors did not
give up the cases hopeless. Instead, they evolved a system
of policy and action which they thought could bring the
obstinate provincials. To term. That system, traceable in their letters
to the government in London, consisted of three parts. The
royal officers in the colonies were to be made independent
of the legislatures by taxes imposed by acts of Parliament. Two,
(09:35):
a British standing army was to be maintained in America. Three,
the remaining colonial charters were to be revoked, and government
by direct royal authority was to be enlarged. Such a
system seemed plausible enough to King George the Third and
to many ministers of the Crown in London. With governors,
courts and an army independent of the colonists, they imagined
(09:56):
it would be easy to carry out both royal orders
and acts of Parliament. This reasoning seemed both practical and logical,
nor was it founded on theory, for it came fresh
from the governors themselves. It was wanting in one respect
only it failed to take account of the fact that
the American people were growing strong in the practice of
self government and could dispense with the tutelage of the
(10:18):
British ministry, no matter how excellent it might be or
how benevolent its intentions. References A. M Earle Home Life
in Colonial days. A. L. Cross, The Anglican Episcopate and
the American Colonies, Harvard Studies. E. G. Dexter, History of
(10:39):
Education in the United States. C. A. Dunaway. Freedom of
the Press in Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin Autobiography. E. B. Green
The Provincial Governor, Harvard Studies. E. A. McKinley. The suffrage
franchise in the Thirteen English Colonies, Pennsylvania University Study. M. C. Tyler.
(11:02):
History of American literature during the Colonial times in two volumes.
Questions Number one, why is leisure necessary for the production
of art and literature? How may leisure be secured? Number
two explain the position of the church in colonial life.
Number three contrast the political roles of Puritanism and the
(11:25):
established Church. Number four How did diversity of opinion work
for toleration? Number five show the connection between religion and
learning in colonial times? Number six Why is a free
press such an important thing to American democracy? Number seven
relate some of the troubles of early American publishers. Number
(11:48):
eight give the undemocratic features of provincial government. Number nine,
how did the colonial assemblies help to create an independent
American spirit in spite of a restricted suffrage? Number ten
explain the nature of the contests between the governors and
the legislatures. Research topics, Religious and intellectual life Lodge, Short
(12:12):
History of the English Colonies one in New England, pages
four eighteen to four thirty eight, four sixty five to
four seventy five. Number two in Virginia, pages fifty four
through sixty one, eighty seven through eighty nine. Three in Pennsylvania,
pages two thirty two to two thirty seven, two fifty
(12:36):
three to two fifty seven, Number four in New York
pages three sixteen to three twenty one. Interesting source Materials
in Heart American History Told by Contemporaries, Volume two, pages
two fifty five to two seventy five, two seventy six
to two ninety The Government of a Royal Province, Regis
(13:00):
Gina Lodge, pages forty three to fifty Special reference E. B. Green,
the Provincial Governor Harvard Studies The Government of a Proprietary
Colony Pennsylvania Lodge, pages two thirty to two thirty two
Government in New England Lodge, pages four twelve to four seventeen.
(13:22):
The Colonial Press Special Reference. G. H. Paine History of
Journalism in the United States, nineteen twenty. Colonial Life in General,
John fisk Old, Virginia and Her Neighbors, Volume two, pages
one seventy four to two sixty nine. Elson History of
the United States, pages one ninety seven to two ten.
(13:45):
Colonial Government in General, Elson, pages two ten to two sixteen.
End of section nine
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. History of the United States by
Charles A. Beard and Mary Ridderbeard, Part one, Section nine.
(00:22):
The evolution in political institutions. Two very distinct lines of
development appeared in colonial politics. The one, exalting royal rights
and aristocratic privileges, was the drift toward provincial government through
royal officers appointed in England. The other, leading toward democracy
and self government, was the growth in the power of
(00:44):
the popular legislative Assembly. Each movement gave impetus to the other,
with increasing force during the passing years, until at last
the final collision between the two ideals of government came
in the War of Independence. The provinces of the thirteen
English colonies, eight were royal provinces in seventeen seventy six,
(01:06):
with governors appointed by the King. Virginia passed under the
direct rule of the Crown in sixteen twenty four when
the charter of the London Company was annulled. The Massachusetts
Bay Corporation lost its charter in sixteen eighty four, and
the new instrument granted seven years later, stripped the colonists
of the right to choose their chief executive. In the
early decades of the eighteenth century, both the Carolinas were
(01:29):
given the provincial instead of the proprietary form. New Hampshire
severed from Massachusetts in sixteen seventy nine, and Georgia, surrendered
by the Trustees in seventeen fifty two, went into the
hands of the crown. New York, transferred to the Duke
of York on its capture from the Dutch in sixteen
sixty four, became a province when he took the title
(01:51):
of James the Second in sixteen eighty five. New Jersey,
after remaining for nearly forty years under proprietors, was brought
directly under the king in seventeen o two. Maryland, Pennsylvania,
and Delaware, although they retained their proprietary character until the Revolution,
were in some respects like the royal colonies, for their
(02:11):
governors were as independent of popular choice as worth they
appointees of King George. Only two colonies, Rhode Island and Connecticut,
retained full self government. On the eve of the Revolution.
They alone had governors and legislators entirely of their own choosing.
The chief officer of the royal province was the governor,
who enjoyed high and important powers, which he naturally sought
(02:34):
to augment at every turn. He enforced the laws, and,
usually with the consent of a council, appointed the civil
and military officers. He granted pardons and reprieves. He was
head of the highest court. He was commander in chief
of the militia. He levied troops for defense, and enforced
martial law in time of invasion, war, and rebellion. In
(02:56):
all the provinces except Massachusetts. He named the councilors who
composed the upper house of the legislature, and was likely
to choose those who favored his claims. He summoned, adjourned,
and dissolved the Popular Assembly, or the lower House. He
laid before it the projects of law desired by the Crown,
and he vetoed measures which he thought objectionable. Here were
(03:17):
in America all the elements of royal prerogative against which
Hampden had protested and Cromwell had battled in England. Illustration
the Royal Governor's Palace at newbern The colonial governors were
generally surrounded by a body of office seekers and hunters
for land grants. Some of them were noble men of
broken estates who had come to America to improve their fortunes.
(03:41):
The pretensions of this circle, graded on colonial nerves, and
privileges granted to them, often at the expense of colonists,
did much to deepen popular antipathy to the British government.
Favors extended two adherents of the established church displeased dissenters.
The reappearance of this formidable union of church and state
from which they had fled stirred anew the ancient wrath
(04:04):
against that combination. The colonial assembly, coincident with the drift
toward administration through royal governors, was the second and opposite tenancy, namely,
a steady growth in the practice of self government. The
voters of England had long been accustomed to share in
taxation and lawmaking through representatives in parliament, and the idea
(04:25):
was early introduced in America. Virginia was only twelve years
old sixteen nineteen when its first representative assembly appeared. As
the towns of Massachusetts multiplied and it became impossible for
all the members of the corporation to meet at one place.
The representative idea was adopted in sixteen thirty three. The
(04:45):
River towns of Connecticut formed a representative system under their
Fundamental Orders of sixteen thirty nine, and the entire colony
was given a royal charter in sixteen sixty two. Generosity,
as well as practical considerations in induced such proprietors as
Lord Baltimore and William Penn to invite their colonists to
share in the government as soon as any considerable settlements
(05:08):
were made. Thus, by one process or another, every one
of the colonies secured a popular Assembly. It is true
that in the provision for popular elections, the suffrage was
finally restricted to property owners or taxpayers with a leaning
toward the freehold qualification. In Virginia, the rural voter had
to be a freeholder owning at least fifty acres of
(05:30):
land if there was no house on it, or twenty
five acres with a house twenty five feet square. In Massachusetts,
the voter for member of the Assembly under the Charter
of sixteen ninety one had to be a freeholder of
an estate worth forty shillings a year at least, or
of other property to the value of forty pounds sterling.
(05:51):
In Pennsylvania, the suffrage was granted to freeholders owning fifty
acres or more of land well seated twelve acres cleared,
and to other persons worthy at least fifty pounds in
lawful money. Restrictions like these undoubtedly excluded from the suffrage
a very considerable number of men, particularly the mechanics and
artisans of the towns, who were by no means content
(06:13):
with their position. Nevertheless, it was relatively easy for any
man to acquire a small freehold, so cheap and abundant
was land, and in fact a large proportion of the
colonists were landowners. Thus the assemblies, in spite of the
limited suffrage, acquired a democratic tone. The popular character of
the assemblies increased as they became engaged in battles with
(06:35):
the royal and proprietary governors. When called upon by the
executive to make provision for the support of the administration,
the legislature took advantage of the opportunity to make terms
in the interests of the taxpayers. It made annual, not permanent,
grants of money to pay official salaries, and then insisted
upon electing a treasurer to dole it out. Thus the
(06:56):
colonists learned some of the mysteries of public finance, as
well as the management of rapacious officials. The legislature also
used its power over money grants to force the governor
to sign bills which he would otherwise have vetoed contests
between legislatures and governors. As may be imagined, many and
bitter were the contests between the royal and proprietary governors
(07:19):
and the colonial assemblies. Franklin relates an amusing story of
how the Pennsylvania Assembly held in one hand to bill
for the executive to sign, and in the other hand
the money to pay his salary. Then, with sly humor,
Franklin adds, quote, do not, my courteous reader, take pet
at our proprietary constitution for these our bargain and sale
(07:40):
proceedings in legislation. It is a happy country where justice
and what was your own before can be had for
ready money. It is another addition to the value of money,
and of course another spur to industry. Every land is
not so blessed end quote. It must not be thought, however,
that every governor got off as easey Lea's Franklin's tale implies,
(08:02):
on the contrary, the legislatures, like Caesar, fed upon meat
that made them great, and steadily encroached upon executive prerogatives
as they tried out and found their strength. If we
may believe contemporary laments, the power of the crown in
America was diminishing when it was struck down altogether in
New York. The friends of the governor complained in seventeen
(08:23):
forty seven that quote, the inhabitants of plantations are generally
educated in Republican principles. Upon Republican principles, all is conducted.
Little more than a shadow of royal authority remains in
the northern colonies. End quote here quote echoed the governor
of South Carolina the following year, quote, leveling principles prevail.
(08:47):
The frame of the civil government is unhinged. A governor,
if he would be idolized, must betray his trust. The
people have got their whole administration in their hands. The
election of the members of the assemblies by ballot not
civil posts only, but all ecclesiastical preferments are in the
disposal or election of the people. Though baffled by the
(09:10):
leveling principles of the colonial assemblies. The governors did not
give up the cases hopeless. Instead, they evolved a system
of policy and action which they thought could bring the
obstinate provincials. To term. That system, traceable in their letters
to the government in London, consisted of three parts. The
royal officers in the colonies were to be made independent
of the legislatures by taxes imposed by acts of Parliament. Two,
(09:35):
a British standing army was to be maintained in America. Three,
the remaining colonial charters were to be revoked, and government
by direct royal authority was to be enlarged. Such a
system seemed plausible enough to King George the Third and
to many ministers of the Crown in London. With governors,
courts and an army independent of the colonists, they imagined
(09:56):
it would be easy to carry out both royal orders
and acts of Parliament. This reasoning seemed both practical and logical,
nor was it founded on theory, for it came fresh
from the governors themselves. It was wanting in one respect
only it failed to take account of the fact that
the American people were growing strong in the practice of
self government and could dispense with the tutelage of the
(10:18):
British ministry, no matter how excellent it might be or
how benevolent its intentions. References A. M Earle Home Life
in Colonial days. A. L. Cross, The Anglican Episcopate and
the American Colonies, Harvard Studies. E. G. Dexter, History of
(10:39):
Education in the United States. C. A. Dunaway. Freedom of
the Press in Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin Autobiography. E. B. Green
The Provincial Governor, Harvard Studies. E. A. McKinley. The suffrage
franchise in the Thirteen English Colonies, Pennsylvania University Study. M. C. Tyler.
(11:02):
History of American literature during the Colonial times in two volumes.
Questions Number one, why is leisure necessary for the production
of art and literature? How may leisure be secured? Number
two explain the position of the church in colonial life.
Number three contrast the political roles of Puritanism and the
(11:25):
established Church. Number four How did diversity of opinion work
for toleration? Number five show the connection between religion and
learning in colonial times? Number six Why is a free
press such an important thing to American democracy? Number seven
relate some of the troubles of early American publishers. Number
(11:48):
eight give the undemocratic features of provincial government. Number nine,
how did the colonial assemblies help to create an independent
American spirit in spite of a restricted suffrage? Number ten
explain the nature of the contests between the governors and
the legislatures. Research topics, Religious and intellectual life Lodge, Short
(12:12):
History of the English Colonies one in New England, pages
four eighteen to four thirty eight, four sixty five to
four seventy five. Number two in Virginia, pages fifty four
through sixty one, eighty seven through eighty nine. Three in Pennsylvania,
pages two thirty two to two thirty seven, two fifty
(12:36):
three to two fifty seven, Number four in New York
pages three sixteen to three twenty one. Interesting source Materials
in Heart American History Told by Contemporaries, Volume two, pages
two fifty five to two seventy five, two seventy six
to two ninety The Government of a Royal Province, Regis
(13:00):
Gina Lodge, pages forty three to fifty Special reference E. B. Green,
the Provincial Governor Harvard Studies The Government of a Proprietary
Colony Pennsylvania Lodge, pages two thirty to two thirty two
Government in New England Lodge, pages four twelve to four seventeen.
(13:22):
The Colonial Press Special Reference. G. H. Paine History of
Journalism in the United States, nineteen twenty. Colonial Life in General,
John fisk Old, Virginia and Her Neighbors, Volume two, pages
one seventy four to two sixty nine. Elson History of
the United States, pages one ninety seven to two ten.
(13:45):
Colonial Government in General, Elson, pages two ten to two sixteen.
End of section nine
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