Beveridge was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1887 and began the practice of law in Indianapolis. He first attracted national attention by his eloquent speeches defending the increasing power of the federal government and advocating U.S. territorial expansion overseas. In 1899 he was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate (1899–1911), where he supported the progressive legislation sponsored by President Theodore Roosevelt. Breaking with the conservative wing of his party, he served as chairman and keynote speaker of the emotion-packed convention that organized the Progressive Party and nominated Roosevelt for president in 1912.

Beveridge never again held public office, devoting much time after 1912 to the writing of history. His The Life of John Marshall, 4 vol. (1916–19), was widely acclaimed and won a Pulitzer Prize. At the time of his death he had completed two volumes of a biography of Abraham Lincoln, published in 1928.