The idea of an independent United States was inspired in no small part by Greco-Roman ideals, argues a classics professor
“George Washington,” by Horatio Greenough, 1840. Photo: Wknight94 via Wikimedia Commons
If you looked at the books owned by the founders of the United States, you’d likely find many classical authors like Cicero and Livy. Thomas Jefferson, for example, read Greek and Latin throughout his life, as did John Adams, who preceded him as president.
That’s not a surprise to Gregory Crane, professor of classics, who sees a connection between that focus on the classics and the ideals invoked in the founding of the country. As the U.S. marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence this year, Crane recently offered the class Greco-Roman World and the Invention of America.
The class explores “how Americans from Franklin and Washington to Abigail Adams drew on the ancient world to imagine a new republic and why that mattered both at home and abroad,” says Crane, a connection that many Americans today might not make. “Greco-Roman culture was their common language for politics, philosophy, and ideals of freedom.”
The founders searched Greek and Roman history for examples of how systems of governance worked well—and didn’t. “Julius Caesar was for the most part a tyrant, while Cato the Younger, who opposed Caesar, was a figure that many founders, particularly Washington, admired,” says Crane. “They looked for examples from not only Athenian democracy and the Roman republic, but also now little-known organizations such as the Achaean League and in authors who are not widely read today, such as Polybius.”
About three-quarters of the signers of the Declaration of Independence had some form of classical education in Greek and Latin, and certainly the drafters Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin were steeped in the classics, Crane notes. Even though they were located far from the intellectual centers of Europe, “they were better educated than the elites in England,” he says.
When the Constitution was drafted in 1787, the delegates “were looking to ancient history, Greco-Roman history, and European history for examples of what does and does not work,” Crane notes.
Benjamin Franklin, one of the drafters, read ancient literature in translation and “could talk about the Greco-Roman world to the French,” he says. “Others like John Adams used classical education to establish their intellectual credibility.”
Looking Back to Roman Ideals
That connection to the classics is something that modern politicians seem quite removed from, but the worldview of the founders and their generation was imbued with lessons from the Greco-Roman world.
Horatio Greenough’s 1840 statue of George Washington in a toga was controversial when it first debuted. It is now on display at the National Museum of American History. Photo: Wknight94 via Wikimedia Commons
“George Washington’s favorite play was called Cato: A Tragedy by Joseph Addison, which tells the story of Cato the Younger ending his life rather than the yield to Caesar in defense of the republic,” says Crane. Washington had his soldiers perform the play in the harsh conditions at Valley Forge in the winter of 1778 for inspiration. “It gave them the framework, the models by which they shaped themselves.”
Washington also looked to various Roman figures as models, like the Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus. He used a strategy of mostly avoiding direct fights with his opponents in war, like Hannibal, and instead picking and choosing his battles. Washington as general for the Continental Army did much the same.
He also was inspired to retire from power instead of remain in the presidency—unusual in that day and age—by the example of Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a Roman leader from the fifth century BCE. Cincinnatus famously retired from power and took up farming, was called back to lead in a time of emergency, and quickly returned to his farm.
“I don’t think we appreciate still the magnitude of Washington’s decision after the war to go home,” Crane says. “King George III apparently said that if George Washington gives up power and goes home, he will be the greatest man in the world.”
John Adams, who followed Washington as president, saw himself like Cicero, the Roman orator and politician, says Crane. Cicero was one of the most famous and successful Roman orators; his speeches provided a model for how to persuade people, and “he was a little vain and got angry easily and talked about how great he was,” says Crane.
“Adams identified with Cicero in his eloquence and statesmanship, and also realized he was similar in his flaws to Cicero as well. Adams cites Cicero more than anybody else—he sees Cicero as a sort of sympathetic role model that he can relate to,” he says.
Not only were the founders inspired by the Greco-Roman world as they formulated a new type of government, says Crane, but that background was helpful in material ways, too. “Americans also used their understanding of the Greco-Roman world to help establish their credibility as they sought alliances in France and the Netherlands, and as they built support even among leaders in England who were sympathetic to their cause,” Crane says.
