Roman Aspect of the US Discussion - The Greeks invented

University of Michigan Roman Aspect of the US Discussion

The Greeks invented "democracy"; it was the ancient Romans that established the first large-scale model of "republican" government—representative government based on a population of "citizens" with certain rights established in law.

The history of the Roman Republic (509 B.C.E. - 27 B.C.E.) was, however, often not a peaceable one as Rome grew from a small city to a sprawling Mediterranean and European power, lurching through a series of internal and external crises, and culminating in the dictatorship and assassination of Julius Caesar.

discuss the following:

The American founding fathers—most famously James Madison in preparing for the Constitutional Convention—looked closely to the history of the Roman Republic for models, lessons, and warnings as they sought to create new republican government in a new age. What models, lessons, and warnings, in your view, could and should they/he have pointed to that would be most useful for the young American nation? What models, lessons, and warnings do you think would be most valuable to us today, and why?