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Essay: Is the United States of the 21st Century faced with the same dilemma and
problems that the
Roman Republic faced as it transformed due its strength, into an empire? Discuss your
Stance based upon knowledge and backed by historical research.
The Roman Republic was established in 509 B.C., after Roman nobles overthrew the
king. The new government kept many features of the earlier system, including the Senate
and citizen assemblies. Two elected officials called consuls headed the government. The
consuls shared power, but either consul could veto the actions of the other. A consul
served for only a year.
The Senate was the most powerful government body of the Roman Republic. The Senate
conducted foreign policy, passed decrees, and handled the government's finances.
Senators, unlike consuls, served for life. At first, all senators were patricians. Patricians
were members of Rome's oldest and richest families. Patricians controlled not only the
Senate but also the assembly that elected the consuls and other important officials. All the
rest of Rome's citizens, who were called plebeians, had little political influence.
To obtain political rights, plebeians formed their own assembly, the Concilium Plebis,
and elected leaders called tribunes. Largely through the work of the tribunes, plebeians
gradually gained the same political rights as the patricians. In time, a new and larger
assembly, the Comitia Tributa, developed. It represented both patricians and plebeians,
but plebeians largely controlled the assembly.
Expansion overseas made Rome a mighty kingdom during the 200's and 100's B.C. Rome
came into conflict first with Carthage, a sea power and trading center on the coast of
northern Africa. Rome and Carthage fought for mastery of the Mediterranean Sea in three
struggles called the Punic Wars. In the First Punic War (264-241 B.C.), Rome conquered
Sicily, an island off the tip of Italy, and made it the first Roman province. Rome also
seized two other Mediterranean islands--Sardinia and Corsica. In the Second Punic War
(218-201 B.C.), the brilliant Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca led his army over the
Alps into Italy. He won several key battles, but Roman manpower and endurance
eventually wore him down. Under Publius Cornelius Scipio's leadership, the Roman
forces defeated Hannibal in 202 B.C. In the Third Punic War (149-146 B.C.), Rome
destroyed Carthage. These victories brought the Mediterranean coasts of Spain and
Africa under Roman control.
After the Second Punic War, Rome began to expand in the east. At first, Rome acted to
protect its allies along Italy's east coast from pirate raids. However, it soon became
involved in conflicts between Greece and Macedonia. Macedonia, which lay north of
Greece, had conquered the Greeks in 338 B.C. Rome posed as the liberator of the Greeks.
Nevertheless, by the 140's B.C., it had taken control of Greece and Macedonia. In
133 B.C., King Attalus III of Pergamum, a Roman ally, died and left his kingdom (now
part of Turkey) to Rome.
Two reasons help explain Rome's remarkable expansion overseas. First, Rome built an
alliance of cities in Italy that supplied the army with enormous manpower. Second, pride
in their military power and government institutions gave the Romans great confidence in
their superiority and in the justness of their cause.
Although the Romans had triumphed overseas, they faced growing discontent at home.
Wealthy Romans profited from the tax revenues, slaves, and looted property that poured
into Rome from defeated lands. But unemployment rose as plantations worked by slaves
drove out the small farmers, and the gap between rich and poor widened. In 133 and
123 B.C., two Roman tribunes tried to help the poor. Tiberius Gracchus and his brother,
Gaius Gracchus, promoted a program to distribute state-owned land to the poor.
However, the majority of the Senate opposed them, and both brothers were assassinated.
Conflicts among leaders caused upheaval in the Roman Republic during its last 100
years. Revolts by Rome's Italian allies, a war in Asia, and unrest at home weakened the
republic. In 82 B.C., the Roman general Lucius Sulla became dictator. Sulla restored
stability to the government and strengthened the Senate by bringing in new leaders. Sulla
retired in 79 B.C., but he had given Rome a taste of one-man rule.
In the 60's B.C., Rome again began to expand overseas. The Roman general Pompey
conquered eastern Asia Minor, Syria, and Judea. He returned to Rome a popular hero, but
the Senate refused to recognize his victories. As a result, Pompey and two other Roman
leaders--Julius Caesar and Marcus Crassus--formed a three-man political alliance called
the First Triumvirate in 60 B.C. Crassus died in warfare in 53 B.C. Other Roman leaders
then tried to split the two surviving members of the Triumvirate.
From 58 to 51 B.C., Caesar conquered Gaul, thereby adding the huge territory west of the
Rhine River to the Roman world. Pompey and the Senate feared Caesar's power and
ambition, and they ordered him to give up his command. But Caesar marched his troops
across the Rubicon, a stream that separated Italy from Gaul, and invaded Italy in 49 B.C.
In the civil war that followed, Caesar defeated Pompey and his followers. By 45 B.C.,
Caesar had become sole ruler of the Roman world. A group of aristocrats who hoped to
revive the Roman Republic assassinated him in 44 B.C.
Civil war again broke out after Caesar's death. In 43 B.C., Caesar's adopted son and heir,
Octavian, formed the Second Triumvirate with two army officers, Mark Antony and
Marcus Lepidus. Octavian and Antony defeated Caesar's enemies and soon pushed
Lepidus aside. Octavian and Antony then fought each other for control of Rome. Antony
sought the support of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, and they fell in love. In 31 B.C.,
Octavian defeated the forces of Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium off the
west coast of Greece. The next year, the Romans conquered Egypt and made it a Roman
province.
After the defeat of Antony, Octavian was the unchallenged leader of the Roman world. In
27 B.C., he became the first Roman emperor and took the name Augustus, meaning
exalted. In spite of his power, Augustus avoided the title of emperor. He preferred to be
called princeps, meaning first citizen. Nearly 20 years of civil war had destroyed the
republic. Only a strong central authority seemed able to govern the empire.
This where the Roman Republic ended and the Roman Empire began. The reign of
Augustus marked the beginning of a long period of stability, which became known as the
Pax Romana (Roman Peace). The Pax Romana lasted about 200 years. Augustus
reestablished orderly government and the rule of law. The Senate, consuls, and tribunes
still functioned, but Augustus had supreme power. He commanded the army, controlled
the provinces, and filled the Senate with his supporters.
The United States of the 21st Century faces struggles that can be compared in some ways
to the struggles that the Roman Republic faced. Overall though, the United States is not
in the same position as the Roman Republic was when it transformed into an empire. The
Roman Republic had been weakened by years of civil war. The change of government
from a republic to an empire was almost necessary for the survival of Rome. After the
many conflicts due to civil wars, the Republic was nearly destroyed and the situation in
Rome was chaotic. A change to an empire was really the only solution to the problems.
As stated earlier, only a strong central authority seemed able to govern the empire.
Another thing to keep in mind is how much society has changed since the Roman
Republic. Many of the conflicts that occurred toward the end of the Roman Empire
would never occur within the modern society of the United States. For example, If a
leader from another country were to assassinate President George Bush, they would not
take control over our government. Also, in order to avenge his brother's death, you would
not find Jeb Bush raising an army and attacking the enemy.
The reason for this is simple; the United States of the 21st Century is not nearly as
archaic and barbaric as the Roman Republic was. Although some of our situations may
be compared to those Roman Republic faces during its change to an empire, overall our
problems are different in nature. The United States will remain a strong democracy and
will not follow the same path as Rome...One that led to disaster and downfall.
Keywords:
essay united states century faced with same dilemma problems that roman republic faced
transformed strength into empire discuss your stance based upon knowledge backed
historical research roman republic established after roman nobles overthrew king
government kept many features earlier system including senate citizen assemblies elected
officials called consuls headed government
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