TELEVISION
What America's Founders Learned From Antiquity
Series: What America's Founders Learned From Antiquity4
(5)
About
In this course, you'll explore the ethos of classicism that permeated the founders' era and how the American revolutionaries identified with the ancient Roman republic.
Related Subjects
Episodes
1. Antiquity Erupts in 18th-Century America
29m
Relive the discovery of ancient Pompeii and Herculaneum, which brought the classical world vividly alive for 18th-century Europeans. Learn how founding-era Americans were steeped in classical antiquity through their education and culture, and why they looked to ancient Rome and Greece to understand their own turbulent times and to create a new republic based in representation and equality.
2. A Republic of Farmers: America and Early Rome
31m
In the 1760s, ancient Rome became politically relevant to Colonial Americans. Grasp how colonists, predominantly farmers, drew upon Roman thinkers' notions of the farming class as the backbone of civic virtue, independence, and freedom. Note the ways in which the Roman republic became a language of opposition for Americans to oppressive taxation by the globally expanding British empire.
3. The Dangers of Empire: Rome and Britain
32m
As of 1763, harsh taxation gradually eroded American colonists' contentment with British rule. Here, trace the colonists' response to British policy, as they began to view the British as a tyrannical empire, drawing on both contemporary and ancient writings. See how Americans used the contrast between the Roman republic and the corrupt Roman empire to make sense of their political dilemma.
4. Are We Rome? America's Conflicted Identity
33m
Assess America's associations with ancient Rome and how it became part of the national fabric of America. Within this story, look at two fundamental perceptions: the identification of America with the Roman republic-the society of simple farmers-and, in contrast, with the aggressive Roman empire. Observe how these associations have shaped the nation's ideological dialogue and politics.
5. American Ambivalence Toward Ancient Greece
31m
Investigate Americans' perceptions during the founding era of ancient Greece. Note their selective admiration for Spartan military history, and their wariness of the perceived instability of Athenian democracy. Witness the gradual transformation of these perspectives into the modern view of Greece as the cradle of democracy and Western civilization.
6. The Founders on Carthage and Germania
33m
Beyond Rome and Greece, the founders took inspiration from ancient Carthage. Learn about their view of Carthage as a break-away Phoenician colony with admirable government, whose major threats from Rome mirrored America's own from the British. See also how American revolutionaries invoked the history of the Germanic Saxons' subjection to British rule to criticize the British monarchy.
7. The Lure of Ancient Egypt for a New America
33m
Uncover America's many associations with ancient Egypt. Begin with the Puritans' linking of their flight from religious persecution in England with the biblical Egypt of the Book of Exodus. Look into the classical Egypt Americans encountered through Greek and Roman sources, and the "Egyptomania" of the 19th century, which influenced the ideology of both pro- and anti-slavery activists.
8. George Washington: The American Cincinnatus
34m
Of all the founders, Washington's life was the most publicly classical. Discover how Washington used Greek and Roman sources to shape and give meaning to his own path. In particular, see how he invoked the acts of the Roman general Fabius and the farmer and soldier Cincinnatus in his military and political decisions. Observe his use of classical symbols at Mount Vernon and in his public persona.
9. John Adams: The American Cicero
33m
John Adams's political life was deeply rooted in Greek and Roman history. Trace his route to the presidency, echoing his Roman hero Cicero as a lawyer, orator, and public thinker. Take account of his powerful writings denying the legitimacy of British policies, articulating the "revolution principles" of classical theorists, and proposing a framework for government that would balance power.
10. Thomas Jefferson's Total World of Classicism
33m
Classicism infused Thomas Jefferson's public and private lives. Chart his classical education, "agrarian republicanism," and passionate advocacy for classical architecture. Witness his use of Roman political ideology in his revolutionary role, the influence of neoclassicism in his diplomatic life in France, and his work as president to create a Roman-style republic.
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