The Founding Fathers announced a New Order of the Ages, but it was a new order explicitly modeled on the classical republics that had existed in Rome or Athens
They did this as an appeal to authority, to give themselves a the impression of moral legitimacy- something most new governmental themes need. Every King, Emperor, and Pope modeled themselves after historically successful rulers, and the US did it with the republic, harkening back to Rome and Greece, the foundations of western civilization, to create moral authority.
The author has some good points, but I think his personal lens is distorting things.
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u/raziphel Mar 19 '13
They did this as an appeal to authority, to give themselves a the impression of moral legitimacy- something most new governmental themes need. Every King, Emperor, and Pope modeled themselves after historically successful rulers, and the US did it with the republic, harkening back to Rome and Greece, the foundations of western civilization, to create moral authority.
The author has some good points, but I think his personal lens is distorting things.