Our Founding Fathers

Roman government is the origin for all of our current government system. The Romans has three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The executive had two councils that decided on pretty much every affair within the empire. In the legislative branch was a senate, which advised the executive branch. Lastly in the judicial they had a Supreme Court. Also there was a written law consisting of twelve tablets that gave allowed the citizens to know their rights. As one can tell, the Roman system of government is much like the one currently residing in the United States of America.

Cicero, a very successful Roman politician, also plays a very significant role in the story of “Bartleby, the Scrivener”. The narrator has a bust of Cicero in his office connecting the two cultures; the Western and Eastern cultures however are strikingly different. At around 100 B.C. Cicero led the Roman Empire in a very structured and civilized way. The Roman Empire’s governmental structure is very similar to the United Stated government because they both include three branches. The Judiciary, the Executive, and the Legislative branches are included in both civilizations; however the Roman’s devised this system more than 2,000 years before the United States. They also both have elected officials who are either elected or are appointed by the Consuls. The Roman Government was very orderly and organized, the exact opposite of how it was in Bartleby’s office. This small detail in the story creates more contrast and helps us better understand the changes that can happen in such a short amount of time. The law office was a very orderly place, it just takes one person to throw any well oiled system off balance.

Have you ever thought that the U.S. government is easily comparable to the Roman's version of government? Maybe that's because the U.S. government is roughly parallel with the Ancient Roman Government. The Romans did not have a constitution, like us Americans, but their division of executive, legislative, and judicial branches is similar. The Roman government served as a template for the American government. As you read further, you will see how the governmental structures, with detail, are similar by first making points on the American style contrasted with the Roman style of government.

In American history,Reconstruction was a very brief event that occurred right after the Civil War. During this time, there would be tremendous amounts of issues spreading throughout the nation, such as when the Confederacy would be allowed into the Union or what would freedmen's do since they were once called property. Reconstruction created many accomplishments that still impacts us today. These are some of the topics that went against or fulfilled the ideas of our Founding Fathers.

The Founding Fathers put their blood, sweat and tears into the making of the Constitution and created a government out of practically nothing, all while having a vision for the future. This future consisted of a government that focused on liberty over security; a government of minimal intervention. To say that the modern version of the United States government is exactly what the Founding Fathers envisioned is a very debatable topic. There are many instances where todays government has followed the Constitution for the most part, but then there are a lot of other areas where the Founders visions have been twisted to the point that they are unrecognizable anymore. To start off, the basic concept of the United States government is one of checks and balances. This was put in place to ensure that the government never became too powerful. One very good example of checks and balances is the media. Even the founding fathers knew the extreme power of the media and its ability to keep the government in check. Two men by the names of William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were even able to create the Spanish American War by the process of yellow journalism, or the crude exaggeration of events. The first amendment states that “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” The government today reflects this belief that the media is a watchdog or “fourth estate” as it is so often referred to. Political parties and everything that comes with it, including

​The United States Constitution was carefully crafted by a group of deliberate and thoughtful individuals; each having their own unique and particular ideas about government, and the people it may govern. As this supreme foundation for government was molded, each founding father put forth their learned beliefs and philosophies to be integrated into this modern document. All of the crafting members were both well-read and thoroughly educated, allowing for deep and extended discussions on past governments, their efficiencies, and their deficiencies. Through their readings and philosophical discussions, it became apparent that two previously governing bodies stood, in their opinions, above the rest: The Greek and Roman empires. Their governmental practices and virtues were key in the development of the Constitution, as they were dissected, and eventually, emulated by this country’s founding members.

The government is divided into three branches. Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. James Madison states in his Federalist papers, “Liberty requires that the great departments of powers should be separate and distinct.” Legislative writes the laws for and consists of the House of Representatives and Senate. Executive branch passes the laws the legislative branch makes and the President is the head of this branch. Judicial branch decides if laws are constitutional or not and consists of the Supreme Court. This keeps one branch from getting too much power.

From 509 BC to about 27 BC, Rome was considered a republic. During this time there was no single leader of Rome and the government was run by elected officials. The main leaders of the Roman Republic were the consuls. There were always two consuls in power at a time. Each year new consuls were elected to serve for a one-year term. This kept any one man from becoming too powerful in the government. At the time the Senate was the most powerful governing body in Rome. The Senate had control of the state’s finances and foreign policies. Senators were elected by the people to represent them in government. The Senate was made up of 300 of the most elite and wealthiest of the Roman Republic. One of the most important roles of the Senate to undergo the checks and balances of the Roman government. Checks and balances are the “principle of government under which separate branches are empowered to prevent actions by other branches and are induced to share power” (The Editors). The checks and balances of Rome helped to stabilize the government and allowed the power to be distributed somewhat equally between the consul, the Senate, and the people. However, the fall of the Roman Empire eliminated this type aspect of government in Rome (Kagan 101-103).

Founding Brothers was full of information about the United States, but the ways of government can be compared to that of places around the world. America started from explorers who only knew ways of their home countries, and the founding fathers of our country used those governmental policies as a template for what was to become. An example of the comparison between the government displayed in Founding Brothers and across the globe is the republic which was founded in the United States. Rome shows an equivalent, because, they too, developed a republic. The Roman

The legislative branch, the Executive branch, and the Judicial branch. The Legislative would be Congress and in the house of representatives and senate. Legislative gave Congress the ability to make new laws, tax, form a military, and was the most powerful of the three branches. The executive branch would be led by the president which was in charge of running and enforcing the laws made and appoint government officials. The judicial branch, led by the supreme court, is in charge of interpreting laws and making sure they’re run in a way that agrees with the constitution.

These three branches were intended to be regulated by a system of checks and balances that would prevent any of the branches from being in a position of too much authority. Compared to the Articles, the Constitution’s national government was significantly stronger. The legislature was made up of a lower chamber, also known as the Senate, based on equal representation while the upper chamber, also known as the House of Representatives, was population-based. Congress now had the authority to levy taxes through the lower chamber. The executive branch, another component to the national government, was made up of the president and officials they appointed in the executive department. The executive would act as a check on the legislature through the power of the veto. The judicial branch was made up of the Supreme Court and all federal courts created by Congress. The Supreme Court was given the final jurisdiction to resolve disputes in the governments at the state and national level as well as the ability to declare national laws “supreme” through the supremacy clause. The new structure to the national government was more stable than the one established in the Articles of Confederation and remain in use for several

The Founding Fathers are like the A-team. In most eyes, some of the things they have done is considered heroic. They put themselves on the line and shape what america is today. Some say that the Founding Fathers were only in it for power and money, however they still put themselves on the chop and block by fighting in this war and being the faces of this war. George Washington fought in the battle of trenton, the founding fathers fought in some way. They did the olive branch petition and did all the planning on this war. Who do you think the british would kill first the colonists or the Founding Fathers?

In this lesson, the united States learn how to work as an intendent nations. In 1777, the Continental congress has made the Articles of Confederation, it was the first constitution for the United States. The Articles of Confederation was like a friendship bond between the 13 states. The 13 states bond wasn’t as strong as you thought. The continental congress meet every year to use the Articles as the key to keep the peace between the 13 states. The people in the United States wanted a democratic republic, but they didn’t want a king or queen. They wanted their government to be single and a unified democracy. I didn’t know the Greek had a government similar to us. The Greek had a city state democracies and the ancient Roman republic. The first

I remember reading about some of the wars in middle school. What I did not realize was that so many battles occurred because of land, control, and freedom. Many people died at the hands of others because of disagreements. I was mostly impressed with how religious the founding fathers of our nation was. They had a great impact on the new nation. Religion played an extremely important part of the decisions and the success of the nation. So many negotiations had to take place before any agreements were made. American colonies deserved their independence, the British was very selfish and they thought only of themselves. Great Britain had so many acts they tried to pass because they wanted to control the colonies. One act was The Stamp Act wherein

The Roman government was democratic when it came to the citizens. The citizens could elect their own officials, and the officials were supposed to represent every level of Roman society. There were many types of officials. The two consuls were the chief officials of Rome. Once elected, they served for two years (Trueman, Chris). One of their most important powers was controlling the army (Government under Roman Republic). When they were unsure of a course of action, they were advised by the Senate, a council of around six hundred male citizens (Trueman, Chris). Those six hundred men were usually from wealthy patrician families and were the ones in charge of making the laws and controlling the spending. Contrary to the election of the other officials, the Senate was appointed by the current Consuls. Once they were appointed, they served for life. When one member died, another was chosen in their place (Government).