Howard K. Beale

This article is about the American historian. For the fictional character from the movie Network, see Howard Beale. For other uses, see Howard Beale_(disambiguation).

Howard Kennedy Beale (April 8, 1899 – December 27, 1959) was an American historian and professor of history at the University of North Carolina and the University of Wisconsin. He specialized in nineteenth and twentieth-century American history, particularly the Reconstruction Era. He was also a noted civil libertarian and advocate for academic freedom.

Biography

Beale was born in Chicago to Frank A. and Nellie Kennedy Beale. In 1921 he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in English from the University of Chicago. Beale received an M.A. from Harvard University.

Scholarly Impact

In his scholarly work, Beale emphasized economic factors. He advanced what came to be known as the 'Beale Thesis,' that Reconstruction was the effort of northeastern business leaders to gain control of the federal government for their own ends by eliminating southern and western agrarian competition through Reconstruction (targeting the former) and the 'bloody shirt' patriotism appeal (targeting the latter). He also wrote biographies of Theodore Roosevelt and Edward Bates. He edited a notable memorial work of essays by leading historians in honor of Charles A. Beard. In 1953, he delivered the Albert Shaw Lectures on Diplomatic History. Beale was an influence on the young William Appleman Williams at the University of Wisconsin.

Bibliography

• Theodore Roosevelt and the Rise of America to World Power (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1956)