Comparing the Roman Empire to the United States

One of the most remarkable civilizations to date has been the Roman Empire. It began around 500BC as the Roman Republic and would survive for about 2,000 years. The Empire went through various phases and peaked during the second century. It controlled a huge part of what are now Europe and even a part of Africa. In 476 CE the Roman Empire fell, however, the influence of the Roman culture still stayed for a long time after. Yet, what made the Roman civilization so great? In addition, how does it compare to the ‘super power’ of today, the United States of America?

Many key factors played a role in making Rome the super power that it was. One of the major factors was the geographical location of the city, located roughly in the center of Europe. Rome had the world’s strongest military at the prime of its existence. This is another one of the reasons why the Roman Empire became so strong. The soldiers were very loyal to their country, extremely motivated and had a strong character.
The United States also has the strongest military in the world and that is a reason why the US has become so strong today.

The Romans in general had a different mentality than any other culture before them. They were very loyal to the ruler, proud to be Roman, public-spirited and were very concerned about life around them, which is not so much the case with the people today. The Americans are also very proud to be American, some would say too proud but it is one of the reasons why America has become so great. The Americans are known to be extremely proud and patriotic.

Rome started out without a significant difference between the higher class and lower class people. Eventually, however, the higher class (Patricians) became greedier and began to exploit the small landowners and farmers and a big gap started to form between the lower class and higher-class people. Ultimately, this would be a contributing factor to the downfall of the Roman Empire.
This is what is happening with the US as well. The gap is ever growing between the lower/middle class and the upper class. This has very negative long- term effects in the economy.

The people of Rome came up with many new and innovative technologies and developments that greatly increased their influence and power. One of these new developments was the building of sophisticated roads (for that time), some of which are still in use today. This allowed for fast and easy transport in all conditions, which in turn led to much better efficiency in trading. The Romans created an underground sewage system, public toilets, fountains and public baths. None this would have been possible without the Roman Aqueduct. The Roman aqueduct freed Roman cities from a reliance on nearby water supplies and proved to significantly increase public health and sanitation. While the Romans did not invent the aqueduct, they used their extensive knowledge and perfected it. The US was really at the center of the industrial revolution, creating assembly lines, cars and many other inventions that would change the lives of many, Including nuclear-fission which later led to nuclear bombs. Many of the most famous people in the world come from the US. It is the leading economic and military power, a prominent political and cultural force in the world, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovation. All this has made the US the world super power that it is today. How long will that last?