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comparing the roman and american government
the roman republic compared to us democracy
american government compared to Roman government
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The origins of American democracy took root hundreds of years before the Founding Fathers were even born. Greece and Rome, powerful nation states well-known for their expansive empires and widespread influence, have survived the test of time through their impact on other civilizations (i.e. America). America, founded on Greco-Roman principles, has grown “from sea to shining sea” on a government recognized for its stability and opportunity. The Founding Fathers used their education of ancient history to create the foundation of American law and government. By studying the past’s success and mistakes, the Founders were able to shape a system of policies that they hoped would ensure freedom and happiness for their posterity. The ideals of famous Roman writers fermented into the democratic character of the American Constitution. The problems of the Greek city-state of Sparta steered the Founders to disfavor collectivism. The Founding Fathers were influenced by Greco-Roman governmental structure, ideological principles, and murderous mistakes. The structure of representative American government was heavily shaped by the political systems of the Roman Republic. By definition, a republic is type government that uses elected officials to manage a state and its voters. Roman law started being written down as a constitution in 450 B.C.E., and known as the Law of the Twelve Tables, it was a collection of laws and traditions. The Twelve Tables ensured that the common citizens of Rome, the plebeians, would not be unjustly prosecuted by the aristocracy, called the patricians. This was a significant step forward for civil rights, and the republic was able to form a mixed government of three distinct branches: the office of Consuls, the Senate... ... middle of paper ... ...ing, wresting, and throwing the discus and javelin. Those who failed their training risked societal rejection by their families and friends. Girls trained to survive childbirth and bear the next generation of courageous warriors. Boys trained to be heroic soldiers, indoctrinated to rather die for Sparta than run from death. Although this harsh social system allowed Sparta to have the greatest army in all of Greece, it did however poison the minds of the Spartans. The Spartan paranoia of being conquered led to the advancement of military strength, but also led to the neglect of stability within the Spartan community (Richard). Being an individual in a society that rests on human disposability is impossible, and this very flaw prompted the Founders to stress the importance of individuality, memorialized in the saying “e pluribus unum” or “out of many there is one”.
The U.S. government is a democracy built off of the bases of greek and roman government, both of which are more common than most realize. Through the attempt of recreating these two once great societies the United States has built what is now known as arguably the most stable government on the planet. Thanks to these two societies the United States of America is the global powerhouse government and society where everyone wants to live today.
The Roman Republic can be explained as the period from 509 – 27 BCE, which the ancient Roman civilization exemplified a republican form of government; where the supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives. During the Roman Republic, the 2 most powerful, and main branches of government included the Consuls and the Senate. It was the Consuls who held supreme civil and military control over Rome; however the republic had precautions in place to avoid one of the consuls from exercising too much power, such as short one year terms, veto and the notion of 2 consuls to divide authority. The republic then also included the senate; where at first, senators were only chosen from the patrician class, but in time, plebeians joined their positions (Bradley, 1990). Throughout the history of the republic, the evolution of government was driven by the struggle between the aristocracy and the ordinary citizens. The demise of the republic resulted through a series of civil wars and powerful dominance of significant historical figures (Princeton.edu, 2014).
Rather than creating a government that was primarily a democracy like the Athenians, an aristocracy or a monarchy, the Roman constitution mixed these three elements, therefore creating three separate branches of government. The executives served as monarchical element, the Senate as the aristocratic and finally, the Assembly as the democratic element. A complex set of checks and balances existed between these three branches. The Executive branch enforced the law, and presided over the Senate and the legislative assemblies. They had supreme civil and military authority and held office for one year, then entered the Senate for life unless impeached. The Senate was a collection of citizens who served as the legislative branch of the government as well as an advisory body. Lastly, there was the Assembly of Tribes, which contained all citizens. Romans believed that authority comes from the people and the people 's consent is necessary, therefore, the Assembly was responsible for approved or rejected laws, decided issues of war and peace, and elected executive magistrates. Besides check and balance and separation of powers, many other concepts from Roman republicanism shaped American constitutionalism. The power to veto and filibusters, the practice of term limit, impeachment, and regularly scheduled elections were all included in the Roman’s unwritten
Democracy in the United States became prominent in the early to mid 19th century. Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States, was inaugurated in 1829 and was best known as the person who mainstreamed democracy in America. Because he came from a humble background, he was the “genuine common man.” (Foner, pg. 303) He claimed he recognized the needs of the people and spoke on behalf of the majority [farmers, laborers]. However, critics of Jackson and democracy called him “King Andrew I” because of his apparent abuse of presidential power [vetoing]. These critics believed he favored the majority so much that it violated the U.S. constitution, and they stated he was straying too far away from the plan originally set for the United States. Because of the extreme shift of power to the majority, the limiting of rights of the few [merchants, industrialists] and the abuse of power under Jackson’s democracy, the foundational documents set in the constitution was violated, and the work of the preceding presidents were all but lost.
“The British are coming, the British are coming!” Did you know that these famous words were never yelled by Paul Revere? However, the British were indeed coming. America’s forefathers came to this land to escape oppression from British rule. It wasn’t until they were being overtaxed by the British that they rose up to fight for independence and freedom. This historic event was known as The American Revolution. The American Revolution gave birth to democracy in America through great historical events, unknown facts, and famous penned agreements.
Adding this all up, I have concluded that the United States democracy is unhealthy, yet I still believe there is hope. If I had to give the current condition of democracy a letter grade, I would give it a C. I got this grade because even though the United States maintains many civil right and liberties, a strong number of interest groups, and diverse political parties, it just isn’t enough to carry the poor conditions of ideologies, voter turnout, education, economics, and media. Democracy is surly not thriving in America, but at this point, there is still hope.
It is an undisputable fact that the creation of the United States and the implementation of a republican form of democracy is one of the crowning achievements of human progress. The American form of democracy was more or less an amalgamation of Moses, Cicero, and John Locke; and propelled by the ideas of Adam Smith and his economic treatise “Wealth of
The very history of the country, a major contributor to the evolution of its political culture, shows a legacy of democracy that reaches from the Declaration of Independence through over two hundred years to today’s society. The formation of the country as a reaction to the tyrannical rule of a monarchy marks the first unique feature of America’s democratic political culture. It was this reactionary mindset that greatly affected many of the decisions over how to set up the new governmental system. A fear of simply creating a new, but just as tyrannic...
The Constitution of the United States is an intricate document, that has influenced and shaped many newly formed Democratic nations. Many people believe that the ideas in the American Constitution are all novel and original, but that is untrue. The roots of American Constitutionalism are found in the historical paradigms of Western tradition. The fact is, constitutional doctrines were long developed and put into use long before the birth of America. The Greeks, the Romans, the English, and even the Colonialist in the New World all formed constitutional doctrines that would later influence the Founding Fathers of the American Constitution.
During the time period of ancient Rome, the structure of government and political culture was developed and has helped us base our own government and political ideas to the ones that we use today. Ancient Rome had three periods’ in their government those where the Republican period, Imperial period, and Monarchy period. Each period helped Rome build their government and structure their society in a specific way throughout their early years. The Romans were a direct democracy, meaning everyone (who is eligible) is able to vote, on who is put in charge. The Republican period was the most influential period in their history on modern society. During the Republican period every male citizen enjoyed the privilege of voting (1) on the legislation, (2) on the election of government officials. (Shelton 1988) Although it was a direct democracy at the time it was definitely more of an aristocracy than a democracy due to senators who were part of Rome’s upper-class, who controlled the nature of legislation that reached the assemblies. (Shelton 1988). People were put into three assemblies: the Comitia Centuriata, the Comitia Tributa, and the Concilium Plebis. Voters were divided into voting units called centuries; divisions that were made according to property value and age; so that the wealthiest people at a certain age were grouped together. (Shelton 1988) But, mostly all decisions were made by the wealthiest group of older people given their power over the community.
"United States can be seen as the first liberal democracy. The United States Constitution, adopted in 1788, provided for an elected government and protected civil rights and liberties. On the American frontier, democracy became a way of life, with widespread social, economic and political equality. The system gradually evolved, from Jeffersonian Democracy or the First Party System to Jacksonian Democracy or the Second Party System and later to the Third Party System. In Reconstruction after the Civil War (late 1860s) the newly freed slaves became citizens, and they were given the vote as well." (Web, 1)
In the 1500s the Founding Fathers began creating a vision for the United States, an ideal image of how it should run. In developing this vision, they looked to two of the strongest political systems of the past: Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. From ancient Greece the Founding Fathers took the three branches of government, roles of courts and representative government. From Rome the Founding Fathers took the senate and the veto power of both the senate and president. Although both of these ancient civilizations crashed and burned, the Founding Fathers were looking for new ways to intertwine the rights of the people and the political placement of power from one person to all people.
A new democracy was established in America with certain unique characteristics in its structure and establishment. America’s tyranny never came. America’s duration of holding to its original form of government, since the time of the Constitution, evolved from a near insignificant point in human history, to an era power not in a man, but rather in free men, every one in America for over 200 years. The question of every great historian then is this, “How has America’s democracy thrived when all others previous to it has failed?”1 A brilliant young historian from France devoted a major portion of his life to answer this world changing mystery. Alexis de Tocqueville revealed to Europe, which characteristics instilled in American democracy must be modeled in order to construct a proper institution of government in any nation. He did this in his work, Democracy in America.
To being with, the most important part of any society, in theory, is its government. Though the Roman Republic was a Republic in name, it isn't much like the United States, or any other Republican State for that matter; however, there still are a few characteristics of the government of the Roman Republic that influence many governments today, including the United States'. The Roman government had three distinct branches, all with powers that can control the other branch if it abuses it's power (Checks and balances). Equally important, the Roman government included the position of the Senate and the veto, which still play a major role in many present day government. Based off the Romans, many other governments also used the Roman idea of Civil Law, which are codes of law and codes of punishment, used to judge a
The Spartan’s were a highly developed warrior based society. They came into the major military power through their highly developed military strategy. The men were required to be a part of the military if they were to be future citizens. The Spartans had a highly revered group of men, who decided if a