The Roman Republic and the American RepublicBy Monte L. Pearson - Algora Publishing
Sound Bite
In Perils of Empire: The Roman Republic and the American Republic, the author traces how the Roman Republic gained an empire and lost its freedoms, and he ponders the expansionist foreign policy that has characterized the American Republic since Teddy Roosevelt led the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill.
This well-researched study of both long-term trends and current events highlights the difficulties of balancing the demands of ruling an empire and protecting democratic political institutions and political freedoms.
About the Author
Monte Pearson holds a Masters Degree in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and has been involved in politics since 1978. A grant-writer for nonprofit organizations, Mr. Pearson also teaches a course on the "Perils of Empire" at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In the late 1990s he began to research the history of the Roman Republic; this book is the result of that research.
About the Book
Many articles in the media examine contemporary American issues and compare them to the problems that led to the fall of the Roman Empire. But before the rise of the Empire, a time of one-man rule and limited freedoms, there was the Roman Republic — 500 years of free elections, civil liberties, and conquering armies. Pearson shows that in fact it was the Republic that was destroyed, and the implications are alarming for Americans today. At first the successful armies brought wealth and glory; then the Republican institutions began to groan under the strain of running an empire. There were feuds, then riots, then civil wars, and the Republic was gone. During this turbulent period some of the most famous people in ancient history vied for power and glory — Caesar, Cleopatra, Cicero, and Octavian, Caesar’s nephew, who became Augustus, Rome’s first Emperor.The fall of the Roman Empire was caused by a dramatic loss of economic and military power and it led to barbarian invasions — a problem that may be starting to affect the United States, but it is hard to visualize the US being formally invaded and occupied by foreign enemies. However, the fall of the Roman Republic led to a severe loss of political and social freedoms at home — a trend that is already underway in America and that is a threat to our basic values as a people.With US forces occupying Iraq and fierce debates over which civil liberties must be restricted in order to prosecute a never-ending war on terrorism, now is a good time to look into the historical mirror and examine the perils for democratic institutions when republics acquire empires.
Introduction
Rome: The Growth of an Underclass
"The instability brewing in the countryside compounded the chaotic growth of Rome, the political capital and economic hub of Italy. A significant number of displaced farmers moved to Rome where they lived on handouts and part-time jobs. Former soldiers took up residence in the city, as did thousands of freed slaves. Those slaves who had practiced a trade in their homeland became craftsmen, traders, and shopkeepers (tabernarii). The rich, who mainly lived on the Palatine hill, were heavy consumers of all types of consumer goods and services, many of which could be satisfied by workers in the city. The city was known for manufacturing a variety of products including clothing, jars and bowls, locks, keys, heavy ploughs, yokes, and baskets."
Excerpt
As we strive to create a better world, we should draw strength and resolution by remembering the sad fate of the citizens of the Roman Republic. Their libertas was washed away in a swirl of cataclysmic events — but we do not have to follow their path of imperial misadventure. It is our turn to challenge history, and the future is unwritten. When we do save the Republic, when we do restore balance to an unstable world, somewhere in the mists of time, their spirits will be cheering for us.
Synopsis of Perils of Empire
The first section describes the Early Republic, from 510 B.C.E. to 365 B.C.E., the period when the Romans overthrew their foreign-imposed king and began creating a unique combination of political institutions including free elections, civil liberties, a citizens’ army, and a complex legal system.
Discussions about these institutions include evaluating similarities between Roman and American political values and practices. This first Republic influenced the founding generation of the American Republic, men who read Latin and knew a great deal about the Roman Republic’s leaders and political ideas.
The second section covers the Middle Republic, from 365 to 146 B.C.E. During this period the city’s political institutions flourished. The Senate, composed of senior leaders of the aristocracy, dominated the city’s elections and foreign policies. After taking over Italy, the Roman Republic’s citizen army conquered Spain, Greece, Asia Minor, and Syria.
While the expanding empire brought great wealth and culture into the city, it also led to great inequalities and social unrest. The Romans suddenly found themselves entangled in a series of wars to preserve the newly won empire. Most strikingly, the guerilla war in Spain, like the war in Vietnam, led to draft dodging and open conflict between the city’s residents and the Senate. This section ends with an historical discussion of American foreign policy and proposes a way of thinking about today’s American empire, an empire of military bases and oil rights, not colonies.
The final section covers the Late Republic, from 146 B.C.E. to 31 B.C.E., when a series of attempts at reform led to bloody conflicts. An endless series of revolts against the empire set up an on-going clash between reformers and those who wanted to preserve the city’s traditional distribution of wealth and power. During the final stages of the Republic Caesar, Cicero, Cato, and Cleopatra vied for power. The book explains why Caesar led his army against the Senate and examines the collapse of the Republic. This section ends with a discussion of the War on Terrorism, its roots in the American empire, and the threat the empire poses to our basic liberties.
