The Beards were active in helping to found the New School for Social Research ( a.k.a . The New School ) in Greenwich Village , New York City , where the faculty would control its own membership . Enlarging upon his interest in urban affairs , he toured Japan and produced a volume of recommendations for the reconstructing of Tokyo after the earthquake of 1923 . His financial independence was secured by '' The Rise of American Civilization '' ( 1927 ) , and its two sequels , '' America in Midpassage '' ( 1939 ) , and '' The American Spirit '' ( 1943 ) , all written with his wife , Mary
earthquake of 1923
1923 Great Kantō earthquake
Charles A. Beard