What Ancient Rome teaches us about saving America

America is approaching a major milestone: its semiquincentennial, which is a fancy word that scarcely anyone knows how to spell or pronounce. It simply denotes that 2026 is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Despite this passage of time, America looks pretty good for her age. Of course, there have been a number of proud and shameful moments in our history, and we are currently on a concerning trajectory. Where it leads is not set in stone, but if you want to learn what could be in store for America, then look to the past, the very ancient past, at Rome.

While comparing the U.S. to ancient Rome can be cliche, at least on a superficial level, a deeper analysis shows striking similarities between the two superpowers. Since Rome has long since fallen, perhaps it can serve as a cautionary tale for Americans. So what lessons can we learn from the Roman Republic to avoid its fate?

To begin with, Rome originally existed as a monarchy — according to legend — beginning in 753 BC. The Romans were tired of the oppressive rule and sparked a revolution in which they rejected the monarchy and formed a republic in 509 BC.

Its government was composed of a number of politicians mostly elected through an ancient form of the electoral college, and the Romans boasted constitutional checks and balances and a kind of bicameral legislature. Citizens also enjoyed certain rights and liberties. Sound familiar? It should — America’s Constitution was based in part on the Roman Republic.

Also like the U.S., after Rome formed into a republic, it engaged in numerous wars as it grew in power and size. Once it defeated its archnemeses, Carthage and Macedonia, Rome emerged as the Mediterranean world’s primary superpower, much in the same way that America found itself as a dominant global power following two world wars and the Cold War.

With increased might and wealth, the Roman Republic grew ill. Politicians and voters increasingly disregarded their constitution, sidestepped long-held precedent and looked at the government as an exploitable means to selfish ends. Politicians sought public office to enrich themselves and increase their prestige, and the people demanded expensive handouts, like free land on which to settle, subsidized grain and total debt forgiveness.

Both statesmen and voters were willing to go to great lengths to achieve their goals. They openly violated term limits, abandoned norms, and relied on riots and assassinations to settle political scores and suppress the vote. Politicians were willing to promise enormous welfare programs to the masses if they would vote them into office. The republic was in tatters.

As power, wealth and handouts became primary objectives — instead of respecting the rule of law — it was only a matter of time before the republic devolved into a series of civil wars. After decades of intermittent fighting, one man, Augustus, remained standing, and he announced that he was giving the Romans their republic back. But that was an illusion. Instead of reinforcing the republic, he replaced it with an autocracy — with him at the helm — in 27 BC.

The people were happy to trade their rights and liberties for security, entertainment and free grain, but their republic was dead. Even so, Rome survived for hundreds more years. Many historians date the Western Roman Empire’s fall to 476 AD and the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire’s remnants to 1453 AD, but they operated more like military dictatorships and monarchies. Rome had come full circle.

The U.S. is not in this stage. We still have a functioning republic with checks and balances and legitimate elections, but our republic is showing cracks and signs of stress. Despite this, Rome’s fate is not necessarily our own. That republic fell not because of its constitution or institutions but in part because voters no longer bought into the idea of a republic. They resorted to violence and coalesced around base politicians, men who in turn acted unscrupulously.

To avoid this mistake, we must respect the sanctity of our institutions over politicians, strictly adhere to our Constitution and precedent, and elect people of integrity. As our semiquincentennial approaches, we should heed the founders’ advice — the power to secure our republic lies with us first and not with politicians.

“To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea,” James Madison wrote. “If there be sufficient virtue and intelligence in the community, it will be exercised in the selection of these men. So that we do not depend on their virtue, or put confidence in our rulers, but in the people who are to choose them.”

Marc Hyden is the senior director of state government affairs at the R Street Institute. Follow him on X at @marc_hyden.