Forrest McDonald
Encyclopedia
Forrest McDonald is an American
historian
who has written extensively on the early national period, on republicanism
, and on the presidency
. He is widely considered one of the foremost historians of the Constitution and of the early national period.
. He took his B.A.
and Ph.D.
degrees (1955) from the University of Texas at Austin
, where he studied with Fulmer Mood. He taught at Brown University
(1959–67), Wayne State University
(1967–76), and the University of Alabama
(1976–2002), and is now retired from teaching.
(in his book An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States) had misinterpreted the economic interests involved in writing the Constitution
. Instead of just two interests, landed and mercantile, which conflicted, there were three dozen identifiable interests that forced the delegates to bargain.
McDonald and the late Grady McWhiney
presented the "Celtic hypothesis" stating that the distinctiveness of Southern
culture derives largely from the majority of the Southern population being descendants of Celtic herdsmen while the majority of the Northern population was the descendants of farmers.
In 1987, the 200th anniversary of the United States Constitution
, the National Endowment for the Humanities
(NEH) selected McDonald for the Jefferson Lecture
, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the humanities
. His lecture was entitled "The Intellectual World of the Founding Fathers." In a New York Times article after his selection, McDonald was quoted as saying that the federal government had "lost its capacity to protect people in life, liberty and property, to provide for the common defense, or to promote the general welfare." However, in interviews and in his Jefferson Lecture, McDonald opposed the idea of a new constitutional convention: in part because he felt that such a convention would become a "runaway" and a "catastrophe"; in part because he thought the inefficiency of the American government was a saving virtue limiting its capacity for oppression; and in part because he felt that in the present day it would be impossible to assemble a group as capable as the 55 delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which took place in an era McDonald called "America's Golden Age, the likes of which we shall not see again."
McDonald's lecture was later described by the noted conservative historian George H. Nash as "a luminous introduction to the intellectual world of the Founding Fathers." However, McDonald faced criticism for not acknowledging the imperfection of slavery
in the original constitutional framework. The New York Times pointedly noted that on the same day as McDonald's Jefferson Lecture, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
gave a speech criticizing "complacent belief" in the perfection of the Constitution, given the stain of slavery. The Times quoted McDonald's answer that at the time of the Constitutional Convention, "Slavery was a fact. It had simply not crossed many people's intellectual or moral horizons to question it," and his further comment, "The condition of the French peasants was far worse than that of the American slaves, and that was heaven compared to the Russian serf."
"The Intellectual World of the Founding Fathers" was republished in the essay collection, Requiem: Variations on Eighteenth-Century Themes. In a 1994 interview, McDonald noted that at the time he was selected for the Jefferson Lecture, he was on record in favor of abolishing the NEH, so he had refused to accept the $10,000 award that went with the honor, although he had not made this refusal public at the time. In the same interview, asked about his political views, McDonald described himself simply as a "conservative"; when the interviewer followed up by asking, "How conservative?" McDonald responded, "Paleo."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
who has written extensively on the early national period, on republicanism
Republicanism in the United States
Republicanism is the political value system that has been a major part of American civic thought since the American Revolution. It stresses liberty and inalienable rights as central values, makes the people as a whole sovereign, supports activist government to promote the common good, rejects...
, and on the presidency
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. He is widely considered one of the foremost historians of the Constitution and of the early national period.
Life
McDonald was born in Orange, TexasOrange, Texas
Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...
. He took his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degrees (1955) from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, where he studied with Fulmer Mood. He taught at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
(1959–67), Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
(1967–76), and the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
(1976–2002), and is now retired from teaching.
Historical beliefs
In his book We The People: The Economic Origins of the Constitution, McDonald argued that Charles A. BeardCharles A. Beard
Charles Austin Beard was, with Frederick Jackson Turner, one of the most influential American historians of the first half of the 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science...
(in his book An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States) had misinterpreted the economic interests involved in writing the Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
. Instead of just two interests, landed and mercantile, which conflicted, there were three dozen identifiable interests that forced the delegates to bargain.
McDonald and the late Grady McWhiney
Grady McWhiney
Grady McWhiney was a historian of the American south and the Civil War.McWhiney was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and served in the Marine Corps in 1945. He married in 1947. He attended Centenary College on the G.I. Bill and earned an M.A. in history from Louisiana State University, working with...
presented the "Celtic hypothesis" stating that the distinctiveness of Southern
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
culture derives largely from the majority of the Southern population being descendants of Celtic herdsmen while the majority of the Northern population was the descendants of farmers.
In 1987, the 200th anniversary of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
, the National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
(NEH) selected McDonald for the Jefferson Lecture
Jefferson Lecture
The Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities is an honorary lecture series established in 1972 by the National Endowment for the Humanities . According to the NEH, the Lecture is "the highest honor the federal government confers for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities."-History of...
, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
. His lecture was entitled "The Intellectual World of the Founding Fathers." In a New York Times article after his selection, McDonald was quoted as saying that the federal government had "lost its capacity to protect people in life, liberty and property, to provide for the common defense, or to promote the general welfare." However, in interviews and in his Jefferson Lecture, McDonald opposed the idea of a new constitutional convention: in part because he felt that such a convention would become a "runaway" and a "catastrophe"; in part because he thought the inefficiency of the American government was a saving virtue limiting its capacity for oppression; and in part because he felt that in the present day it would be impossible to assemble a group as capable as the 55 delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which took place in an era McDonald called "America's Golden Age, the likes of which we shall not see again."
McDonald's lecture was later described by the noted conservative historian George H. Nash as "a luminous introduction to the intellectual world of the Founding Fathers." However, McDonald faced criticism for not acknowledging the imperfection of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in the original constitutional framework. The New York Times pointedly noted that on the same day as McDonald's Jefferson Lecture, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
gave a speech criticizing "complacent belief" in the perfection of the Constitution, given the stain of slavery. The Times quoted McDonald's answer that at the time of the Constitutional Convention, "Slavery was a fact. It had simply not crossed many people's intellectual or moral horizons to question it," and his further comment, "The condition of the French peasants was far worse than that of the American slaves, and that was heaven compared to the Russian serf."
"The Intellectual World of the Founding Fathers" was republished in the essay collection, Requiem: Variations on Eighteenth-Century Themes. In a 1994 interview, McDonald noted that at the time he was selected for the Jefferson Lecture, he was on record in favor of abolishing the NEH, so he had refused to accept the $10,000 award that went with the honor, although he had not made this refusal public at the time. In the same interview, asked about his political views, McDonald described himself simply as a "conservative"; when the interviewer followed up by asking, "How conservative?" McDonald responded, "Paleo."
Books
- Let There Be Light: The Electric Utility Industry in Wisconsin (Madison: American History Research Center, 1957)
- We The People: The Economic Origins of the Constitution (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958; new ed. New Brunswick: Transaction, 1992)
- Insull (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962)
- E Pluribus Unum: The Formation of the American Republic (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1965; new ed., Indianapolis: Liberty Press, 1979)
- The Presidency of George Washington (University Press of Kansas, 1974, paperback ed., 1985) excerpt and text search
- The Phaeton Ride: The Crisis of American Success (Doubleday, 1974)
- The Presidency of Thomas Jefferson (University Press of Kansas, 1976; paperback ed., 1987) excerpt and text search
- Alexander Hamilton: A Biography (Norton, 19790) online edition
- The American People, textbook with David Burner and Eugene D. Genovese; Revisionary Press, 1980 online edition
- Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intellectual Origins of the Constitution (University Press of Kansas, 1985) excerpt and text search (1986 Pulitzer Prize Finalist)
- Requiem: Variations on Eighteenth-Century Themes (University Press of Kansas, 1988), with Ellen Shapiro McDonald
- The American Presidency: An Intellectual History (University Press of Kansas, 1994; paperback ed., 1995) excerpt and text search
- States' Rights and the Union: Imperium in Imperio, 1776-1876 (University Press of Kansas, 2000) excerpt and text search
- Recovering the Past: A Historian's Memoir (2004), autobiography excerpt and text search
Further reading
- Berthoff, Rowland; McDonald, Forrest; McWhiney, Grady. "Celtic Mist over the South," Journal of Southern History, Nov 1986, Vol. 52 Issue 4, pp 523-546
- Coleman, Peter J. "Beard, McDonald, and Economic Determinism in American Historiography," Business History Review, Spring 1960, Vol. 34 Issue 1, pp 113-121
- Main, Jackson T. and Forrest McDonald. "Charles A. Beard and the Constitution: A Critical Review of Forrest McDonald's 'We The People,' with a Rebuttal by Forrest McDonald," William and Mary Quarterly, Jan 1960, Vol. 17 Issue 1, pp 86-110 in JSTOR
- Schuyler, Robert Livingston. "Forrest McDonald's Critique of the Beard Thesis," Journal of Southern History, Feb 1961, Vol. 27 Issue 1, pp 73-80 in JSTOR