Ancient Rome Research Paper

Ancient Rome is recognized as being the forefront of technological innovations and efficiency improvement. The Pont du Gard aqueduct is no less than an impressive engineering feat, stretching for miles to deliver water to town centers. Roman architectural features, such as arches and domes, still remain a prominent presence in modern architecture, proving just how timeless, and more importantly, functional these inventions are. However, one notable difference between the two societies is that unlike Ancient Rome's approach to technological adoption through the appropriation of foreign territories, the United States gained its technological edge through development and research. From the invention of electricity and automobiles to computers,
However, the declaration of wars could be motivated by very different reasons by the two republics. Fueled by the expansionism ideology, Ancient Rome continued to wage wars against neighboring lands, resulting in the establishment of the Roman Empire. At the height of the Roman Empire, it gained territorial control that covered approximately 1.9 million square miles in the Mediterranean, Europe and parts of the Middle East. On the other hand, the American's participation in wars is often largely driven by reasons such as defense of human rights, prevention of communism and protection of minority interests, as evidenced by the Cold War, Korean War, Vietnam War and War on Terrorism, to name a few. Arguably, the U.S.'s decision to declare wars is consistently based upon goodwill as opposed to the Roman's taking of foreign territories by force.

In Ancient Rome, patricians were known to be the ruling class of the society, while plebians were the peasants or commoners without opportunities to move upward on the social ladder. The lack of social mobility in Ancient Rome poses a comparison against modern time United States. One of the very core foundations of the U.S. is that citizens are encouraged to pursue the American dream. People still hold true the promise of the better life by achieving education attainment
The upper house, Senate, was exclusively controlled by patricians, the upper class of Ancient Rome society. The lower house, the Centuriate Assembly, has a huge representation by the plebians even though it was still technically heavily influenced by the patricians. Similarly, our nation's policy making rests on the Senate and Congress, with both houses counteracting one another to ensure that not one house exercises greater power than the other. In addition, in modern United Stated, a well-established, well-organized government consisting of the judicial, executive and legislative branches provided checks and balance. Nevertheless, elitism was a prevalent phenomenon in the ruling class of Ancient Rome, much like the current American elite politicians yielding vast political power.

Ancient Rome has indeed laid the foundation for the development of the modern Western world, including the United States. In many aspects, both societies bear striking resemblance as well as notable differences. In conclusion, the fall of the Roman Empire caused by infighting and civil wars would hopefully serve as a lesson for the divisive United States to learn in light of recent political