208 SPECIALPROVIDENCESoviet-Germanalliance of 1939 that war was inevitable; only after
Hitler'sblitzkriegvictoryoverFranceinMayandJune 1940 was it
inescapablyclearthatvitalAmerican interestswould soonerorlater
requireU.S.participationintheEuropeanwar.
Unfortunatelya greatmanyJeffersonianscontinuedtomakethecase
againstUnitedStatesparticipationinthewarlongaftera dispassionate
studyofthestrategicrealitieswouldhaveshownthatthetimehadcome
toprepare,urgently,forwar. DistinguishedandbrilliantJeffersonians
likethehistoriansCharlesandMaryBeard,whoseearlierworkhadmas-
terfullysummarizedtwocenturiesofJeffersonianthoughtandexposed
theconnectionsbetweenarmssales, bankloans, andAmericanentry
intoWorldWarI,didlastingdamagetotheirreputationsbypersisting
toolonginoppositiontoAmericanentryintoWorldWarII.Evenin
1947 CharlesBeardwasobsessivelytryingtoprovethatRoosevelthad
deceivedtheAmericanpeopleintoa coursethatinexorablyledtoan
unnecessarywar.
TheJeffersonianpartywasbadlydamagedbyitspersistentandill-
timedisolationismintherunuptothewar.Jeffersoniansfoundthem-
selvesoncemoreonthewrongsideofhistory,politicallyspeaking,after
war,whentheyeitheropposedtheColdWaroutrightorarguedfora less
muscularAmericanresponsetoSovietbehavior.
OtherfactorscombinedtoreduceJeffersonianinfluencetohistoric
lowsinthemiddleofthetwentiethcentury.Astheschoolmostopposed
toa strongandcentralizedfederalgovernment,Jeffersonianpolitical
powerwasdeeplyshakenbya seriesofeventsthatconvincedmostmid-
centuryAmericans,leftandright,thattheproblemsofthetwentieth
centurydemandedamuchstrongerfederalgovernmentthanthecountry
hadtoleratedinthepast.
Theeconomicdistressofthedepressionledfirsttoa vastexpansionof
theroleofthefederalgovernment,astheNewDealprovidedeconomic
leadership andemergencyassistancetomillionsofAmericanswhowere
otherwisewithouthope.Theacceptanceofdeficitspendingasa routine
tooltostimulatetheeconomyunderminedoneofthebasicdoctrinesof
Jeffersonianpoliticaleconomy.Alargegovernmentdeficitwasseenasa
methodoftransferringmoneyfromtherichtothemiddleclass.By 1950
fewAmericansdoubtedthattheeconomicrealitiesdemandeda strong
andactivefederalgovernment.
Thegrowthofthepowerandsizeofprivatecorporationswasanaddi-
tionalfactorleadingmanyAmericanstofindnewmeritinthegrowthof
federal power.Stateswerehelplesstoregulatelargecorporations;the