ABSTRACT
Economic interpretation renders intelligible many of the forces at work in the making of the Constitution. This chapter addresses the general questions related to Beard's economic interpretation of the making of the Constitution, the usefulness of economic interpretation in historical analysis, and the avenues of exploration for better understanding of the making of the Constitution. The methodological implications of the foregoing explorations into economic analysis of the making of the Constitution are clear, and from them it is possible to pose some general propositions regarding the role of economic interpretation in historical analysis. The chapter explains the general propositions that suggest themselves as a possible explanation of the distribution of states with respect to the applicability of economic interpretation. Perhaps the likelihood that some form of economic interpretation will render a given historical phenomenon intelligible, other things being equal, increases with the increasing complexity or "advancement" of an economy.
