Roman Culture Vs American Culture Essay

The philosopher George Santayana has once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Today, in numerous places in America, you can tell that Roman culture has had an influence on buildings, games, entertainment, and even our government. To an extent, Roman culture traits compared to the traits of American society are very similar. Before Rome became an empire, it was a Republic. During the Republic, Rome had a government very similar to the current U.S. government. It was broken up into three branches: the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, and the Judicial Branch. The United States government has the same three braches; however, some of the jobs within each branch are different. In the Executive Branch, the two leaders, the consuls, were elected for one year by the upper class. The two consuls were originally both wealthy,
have in common is their laws. The laws for both were made up in the Legislative Branch and were issued for all citizens to see and follow. Also, both cultures had laws covering both civil and criminal matters. However, Rome’s family laws were a lot stricter than the United States are. In Rome, you could sell your children and “if a father thrice surrender a son for sale, the son shall be free from the father.” Also, there were segregation laws between the integrated marriage of Plebeians and Patricians, much like the early 20th century segregation of white and black people. In the end, both of these laws were changed and people gained the civil rights they deserved. In Rome, the most entertaining place to go to was the Coliseum. The Romans used the Coliseum for gladiator and wild animal fights, as well as theatrical productions and entertainment. Like the Romans, the United States has theaters and stages for plays, on/off Broadway shows, and even concerts. Although America does not have gladiator and wild animal fights, something slightly similar is Medieval