Why is it that the decline of the United States is consistently compared to that of the Roman
Empire?
Fears, J.
Unnecessary
actions with the
country’s
military of the
U.S. and Rome
Finances- how
currency was
handled in the
Empire and how it
is handled
currently.)
Culture- how
the rich,
middle, and
poor coped in
the U.S. and
Roman
Empire with
its decline in
power and
ability to
govern the
masses among
other issues
with the
populace
Issues/Policies
with Politics &
Government
“The great
challenge to
Rome in the
Middle East
came from Iran,
the kingdom of
the Iranian
people known
to the Romans
as Parthians.
Parthia was a
welladministered,
economically
important, and
militarily
powerful
empire that
stretched from
the borders of
Iraq to
Afghanistan.
Roman policy
toward Iran
alternated
between
containment
and military
intervention.”
(Fears 2004)
“Making money
was regarded as a
social good. The
empire rested on a
large, prosperous,
and public-spirited
middle class that
took pride in its
philanthropic
activities. The
emperors provided
a safety net so that
the children of the
poor did not starve.
This welfare system
did not dampen the
entrepreneurial
spirit. The freemarket economy
provided economic
opportunity. A
person could begin
life as a slave and
still become a
wealthy and
influential Roman
citizen.” (Fears
2004)
“The plague
carried off the
rich and
powerful and
pious people
and sinners
alike. In an
age in which
antibiotics
were lacking,
there was no
cure.” (Fears
2004)
“Like the
United States,
Rome faced its
most serious
and unyielding
foreign policy
problems in
the Middle
East. Rome
ruled directly
the areas that
constitute the
modern
nations of
Turkey, Syria,
Israel,
Lebanon
Jordan, and
Egypt and all
of North
Africa. The
Middle East
was of
enormous
strategic and
economic
importance to
Rome. As the
oil of the
Middle East
fuels the
“There was an
intensification
of the spiritual
trends that had
been
developing
slowly for
almost 2
centuries.
These trends
are centered
on
monotheism
and an
increased
concern with
the salvation
of the
individual
soul. Religions
like Mithraism
and
Christianity
promised
immortality
through belief
in an
individual
savior divinity,
the son of the
one true god
of the
universe.”
(Fears 2004)
Braeman, “One is hardly
surprised to
J.
learn that the
culmination of
this process
came in
Vietnam or that
the Ameri- can
failure in
Vietnam
shattered the
foreign policy
consensus that
had existed
since World
War I1 and had
a devastating
impact on
national selfconfidence.”
(Braeman
2004)
“Even White
recognizes the
impor- tance of
changes in the
“objective” balance
of power, most
strikingly in the
economic realm.
Although mas- sive
military spending
contributed to the
country’s economic
difficul- ties, a
relative decline in
America’s
economic position
was inevitable with
or without
Vietnam. As White
admits-without
fully grasping how
the admission
conflicts with his
argument-the
primacy of the
United States in the
immediate postWorld War I1 years
rested on “a unique
combination of
elements at a
particular period of
time”” (Braeman
2004)
economic life
of the United
States, the
grain of Egypt
fed the
economic life
of Rome.”
(Fears 2004)
“The crux of
White’s
argument,
however, is
that
unilateralism
proved selfdefeating in
the long run.
Unilateralism
not only
stirred the
resentment
even of allies
and
dependents but
also led to an
everworsening
overextension
of Ameri- can
resources.”
(Braeman
2004)
Damen,
M.
“These newly
“His move was,
“The stark
The general
adopted
moreover, driven by truth was that
incompetence
resident aliens economics as much
by the fifth
of emperors
were assigned
as anything else.
century CE— and the failure
to work farms
Despite the travails and indeed for
of traditional
or were
of their Western
many years
politics in the
conscripted into
counterparts, the
before that—a
West led to a
the Roman
Eastern emperors— succession of
wretchedly
army in
by then, there were
dynamic and
corrupt
numbers so
two Roman
capable
political
large that the
emperors, one in
foreigners
structure,
late Latin word
Rome and one in
coming from
characterized
for "soldier"
Constantinople—
all ends of the
by an
came to be
continued to
Empire had
oppressive
demand that the
kept Rome on
burden of
barbarus
("barbarian").
entire Empire pay
its feet and
taxation levied
And where
taxes into a
these men
to support the
these barbarians common treasury.
were as
growing army
met resistance,
From there, few of
"Roman" as
of soldiers
they sneaked or
these funds ever
anyone born or (barbari!) who
pushed their
made their way
bred in the
were bribed—
way inside the
back to the West
capital.
"employed" is
Empire, and in
where they were
Barbarians
too
such a
desperately needed were, and had sophisticated a
profusion that
to defend the state been for a long
term for this
Rome was fast
and rebuild its
time, guarding
practice—to
turning into a
infrastructure. In
and feeding
fend off
nation of
open defiance of
the Empire,
Rome's foes.
immigrants.”
this tradition,
which made it
This, in turn,
(Damen 2014)
Odovacar began
all the more
led to inflation
keeping the monies
difficult to
and debasing
he collected from
claim they
of Roman
those areas he
shouldn't also coinage, which
governed.” (Damen be running it.
bred a lethal
The way that
2014)
While three
mix of apathy
more and more
centuries
and
angst that
less Roman
earlier
the
inspired
many
people get
What it means by
Roman
satirist
Romans
to
flee
integrated into
“his” is the
Juvenal
had
politics
and
the military is
German general
lamented, "I
later the poleis
that with
Odovacar removing
can't stand a
("city-states")
enough time the
the last true Roman Greek Rome," of the Empire,
foreign aid will
Emperor of whom
now Rome
the urban
eventually fight
was only a boy.
wasn't
merely
foundation
on
for its own gain
as opposed to
the people they
are hired to
fight for.
Romer,
C.
Devaluation,
however, did not
increase output
directly. Rather, it
allowed countries to
expand their money
supplies without
concern about gold
movements and
exchange rates.
Countries that took
greater advantage
of this freedom saw
greater recovery.
The monetary
expansion that
began in the United
States in early 1933
was particularly
dramatic. The
American
money supply
increased nearly 42
percent between
1933 and 1937.
This monetary
expansion
stemmed largely
from a substantial
gold inflow to the
United States,
caused in part by
the rising
political tensions in
Europe that
eventually led to
World War II.”
(Romer 2003)
Greek. It was
Dacian and
Egyptian and
Syrian and,
most of all,
ever more
German by the
day.” (Damen
2014)
which rested
most of
ancient life.”
(Damen 2014)
The most
obvious
economic
impact of the
Great
Depression
was human
suffering. In a
short period of
time world
output and
standards of
living dropped
precipitously.
As much as
onefourth of the
labour force in
industrialized
countries was
unable to find
work in the
early 1930s.
While
conditions
began to
improve by the
mid-1930s,
total recovery
was not
accomplished
until
the end of the
decade.”
(Romer 2003)
“Fiscal policy
played a
relatively
small role in
stimulating
recovery in the
United States.
Indeed, the
Revenue Act
of 1932
increased
American tax
rates greatly in
an attempt to
balance
the federal
budget, and by
doing so dealt
another
contractionary
blow to the
economy by
further
discouraging
spending”
(Romer 2003
Andrews,
E.
“The most
straightforward
theory for
Western
Rome’s
collapse pins
the fall on a
string of
military losses
sustained
against outside
forces. Rome
had tangled
with Germanic
tribes for
centuries, but
by the 300s
“barbarian”
groups like the
Goths had
encroached
beyond the
Empire’s
borders. The
Romans
weathered a
Germanic
uprising in the
late fourth
century, but in
410 the
Visigoth King
Alaric
successfully
sacked the city
of Rome”
(Andrews
2014)
“At its height,
the Roman
Empire
stretched from
the Atlantic
Ocean all the
way to the
Euphrates River
in the Middle
East, but its
grandeur may
have also been
“Even as Rome was
under attack from
outside forces, it
was also crumbling
from within thanks
to a severe financial
crisis. Constant
wars and
overspending had
significantly
lightened imperial
coffers, and
oppressive taxation
and inflation had
widened the gap
between rich and
poor.” (Andrews
2014)
“In the hope of
avoiding the
taxman, many
members of the
wealthy classes had
even fled to the
countryside and set
up independent
fiefdoms. At the
same time, the
empire was rocked
by a labor deficit.
Rome’s economy
depended on slaves
to till its fields and
work as craftsmen,
and its military
might had
traditionally
provided a fresh
influx of conquered
peoples to put to
work.” (Andrews
2014)
(The Edict of
Milan
legalized
Christianity in
313, and it
later became
the state
religion in
380. These
decrees ended
centuries of
persecution,
but they may
have also
eroded the
traditional
Roman values
system.
Christianity
displaced the
polytheistic
Roman
religion, which
viewed the
emperor as
having a
divine status,
and also
shifted focus
away from the
glory of the
state and onto
a sole deity.
Meanwhile,
popes and
other church
eladers took an
increased role
in political
affairs, further
complicating
governance.”
(Andrews
2014)
“Civil war
thrust the
empire into
chaos, and
more than 20
men took the
throne in the
span of only
75 years,
usually after
the murder of
their
predecessor.
The Praetorian
Guard—the
emperor’s
personal
bodyguards—
assassinated
and installed
new
sovereigns at
will, and once
even auctioned
the spot off to
the highest
bidder.”
(Andrews
2014)
its downfall.
With such a
vast territory to
govern, the
empire faced an
administrative
and logistical
nightmare.
Even with their
excellent road
systems, the
Romans were
unable to
communicate
quickly or
effectively
enough to
manage their
holdings.”
(Andrews
2014)
Strauss,
S.
“Similar to the “As the fortunes of
“In the period
late Roman
Rome’s aristocracy just before the
Republic, the
increasingly derived
Roman
US – for the
from foreign lands,
Republic’s
past 100 years
Roman policy was
fall, the
— has either
shaped to facilitate Roman middle
been fighting a
these fortunes.
class was
war, recovering
American
crushed —
from a war, or
billionaires and
destroyed by
preparing for a
corporations
cheap overseas
new war: WW I
increasingly
slave labor. In
(1917-18), WW
influence our
our own day,
II (1941-1945),
elections. In many
we’ve
Cold War
cases, they are only
witnessed
(1947-1991),
nominally
rising income
Korean War
American – with
inequality, a
(1950-1953),
interests not aligned
stagnating
Vietnam (1953with those of the
middle class,
1975), Gulf
American public.
and the loss of
War (1990For example, Fox
American jobs
1991),
News is part of
to overseas
Afghanistan
international media
workers who
(2001group News Corp.,
are paid less
ongoing), and
with over $30
and have
Iraq (2003billion in revenues
fewer rights.”
2011). And,
worldwide.”
(Strauss 2012)
this list is far
(Strauss 2012)
from
complete.”
“During the
late Roman
Republic
period, one of
the main roads
to wealth was
holding public
office, and
exploiting
such positions
to accumulate
personal
wealth. As
Lessig notes:
Congressman,
Senators and
their staffs
leverage their
government
service to
move to
private sector
positions –
that pay three
to ten times
their
government
compensation”
(Strauss 2012)
Esten, K. “Defense of the
empire was
very
costly. Today
the United
States has a
larger military
budget than
nine countries
combined,
showing that
we could soon
be following in
their
path. There
were also
political
reasons, as the
empire grew
too fast to be
stable. The
United States is
a very large
country, and
although many
run it, it is still
slightly
unstable. The
military and
political
reasons were a
large part of the
demise of the
empire, and
may be part of
the United
States’.” (Esten
2012)
(Strauss 2012)
“Firstly,
“The social
unemployment is
aspect of
common in both
Rome’s
“empires”. In
decline also
ancient Rome,
portrays
many of the poor
similarity
had to sell their
between Rome
farms to large
and the
landowners (due to modern United
taxes). This caused
States. The
for an increase in
later Romans
the number of
lost patriotism
unemployed. Those
and this is
people would travel
beginning to
to the cities to look
happen in the
for jobs and be
United
trapped in the
States. People
rotting city.” (Esten
are not as
2012)
loyal to the
government
anymore and
many are in
allegiance to
those with the
most power.”
(Esten 2012)
Works Cited
Andrews, E. (2014). 8 Reasons Why Rome Fell. http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/8-reasons-whyrome-fell
Braeman, J. (1998). The American Century: The Rise and Decline of the United States as a World
Power, History: Reviews of New Books, 26 (2), 59-60.
http://www.tandfonline.com.proxy.library.vcu.edu/doi/pdf/10.1080/03612759809602037
Damen, M. (2014). The Fall of Rome: Facts and Fictions.
http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/1320hist&civ/chapters/08romfal.htm
Esten, K. (2012). United States Vs Roman Empire- Are we the same?
http://www.sbrhsbreeze.org/opinion/2013/10/08/united-states-vs-roman-empire-are-wethe-same/
Fears. J. (2004). The plague under Marcus Aurelius and the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. 19 (1).
http://www.mdconsult.com.proxy.library.vcu.edu/das/article/body/4654003722/jorg=journal&source=&sp=14618583&sid=0/N/411371/1.html?issn=0891-5520
Romer, C. (2003). Great Depression. http://eml.berkeley.edu/~cromer/great_depression.pdf
Strauss, S. (2012). 8 striking parallels between the U.S. and the Roman Empire.
http://www.salon.com/2012/12/26/8_striking_parallels_between_the_u_s_and_the_roman
_empire/