Respond to Students Answer: Connolly2 The Impact of the Classics on the Founding Fathers A significant classical author mentioned by Dr. Carl Richards is Plato (Richard, 2008). Plato was a roman classical author and his take on the Roman Republic in his writings seems to have influenced the formation of the American government as seen now. The founding fathers seemed to view the Roman Empire as the ideal example of a mixed regime. The Roman republic had set up a system of ruling that encompassed various different social classes all under one leader known as the consul. The consul was the overall leader of all the people and he can be equated to the President at the present time USA. The Romans also had the aristocrats rule also known as the senate (Richard, 2008). This can also be seen in present day USA where the senate is also part of the government. Finally the roman republic had the rule of the people known as the tribunes; this can be equated to the House of Representatives in the modern day government of the USA. With reference to this form of government it is possible to see the influence the Romans had on the founding fathers (Richard, 2008). Using Plato’s writings the founding fathers were able to decide on a separate power form of government and were able to modify the constitution to encompass this separate powers and their role in government. The founding fathers seemed to attribute this separation of power to the success of the Roman Empire despite the fact that it came to collapse later on in History. It seems that classical authors did shape the decisions made by the founding  Connolly3 fathers and in a way influenced the formation of the USA government. The video on the impact of the classics on the founding father has a very interesting take on how classical authors shaped the decisions and thoughts of the founding father. The author argues that 18th century educational system and social institutions made the founding fathers worship the classics. The video focuses on various founding fathers’ uses and adaptation to various beliefs that are attributed to the ancient Greeks and Romans. They used influences like mixed government theory, pastoralism, philosophy and anti models to shape the US constitution and in general to govern the country. The video shows the impact of the classics either directly and indirectly on the decision making process of the founding fathers and the making of the US constitution. The classics also influenced their perception on understanding virtue, sense of identity, how they conceived human nature and purpose on a grand universal scale. This means that the classical authors had a great influence both physically and psychologically on the founding fathers. We also see the influence of the classics on the relationship between the federalists and the republicans (Richards, 1996). The supposed bitter rivalry between the two groups is as a result of the founders’ obsessive fear of people conspiring agai ...

1. Respond to Students Answer:
Connolly2
The Impact of the Classics on the Founding Fathers
A significant classical author mentioned by Dr. Carl Richards is
Plato (Richard, 2008). Plato was a roman classical author and
his take on the Roman Republic in his writings seems to have
influenced the formation of the American government as seen
now. The founding fathers seemed to view the Roman Empire as
the ideal example of a mixed regime. The Roman republic had
set up a system of ruling that encompassed various different
social classes all under one leader known as the consul. The
consul was the overall leader of all the people and he can be
equated to the President at the present time USA. The Romans
also had the aristocrats rule also known as the senate (Richard,
2008). This can also be seen in present day USA where the
senate is also part of the government. Finally the roman
republic had the rule of the people known as the tribunes; this
can be equated to the House of Representatives in the modern
day government of the USA.
With reference to this form of government it is possible to see
the influence the Romans had on the founding fathers (Richard,
2008). Using Plato’s writings the founding fathers were able to
decide on a separate power form of government and were able
to modify the constitution to encompass this separate powers
and their role in government. The founding fathers seemed to
attribute this separation of power to the success of the Roman
Empire despite the fact that it came to collapse later on in
History. It seems that classical authors did shape the decisions
made by the founding
Connolly3
fathers and in a way influenced the formation of the USA
government.
The video on the impact of the classics on the founding father

2. has a very interesting take on how classical authors shaped the
decisions and thoughts of the founding father. The author
argues that 18th century educational system and social
institutions made the founding fathers worship the classics. The
video focuses on various founding fathers’ uses and adaptation
to various beliefs that are attributed to the ancient Greeks and
Romans. They used influences like mixed government theory,
pastoralism, philosophy and anti models to shape the US
constitution and in general to govern the country. The video
shows the impact of the classics either directly and indirectly on
the decision making process of the founding fathers and the
making of the US constitution.
The classics also influenced their perception on understanding
virtue, sense of identity, how they conceived human nature and
purpose on a grand universal scale. This means that the classical
authors had a great influence both physically and
psychologically on the founding fathers. We also see the
influence of the classics on the relationship between the
federalists and the republicans (Richards, 1996). The supposed
bitter rivalry between the two groups is as a result of the
founders’ obsessive fear of people conspiring against liberty as
written in the classical. This shows the deep impact the
classical authors had on the psychological views of the founding
fathers.
Dr. Carl Richards focused on what this classical authors and
history has to teach us not only then but also currently. His take
on how the classical authors influenced the running of the USA
government and the lives of its
Connolly4
people is a clear way to prove the inspiring supremacy of the
classics.
Works Cited
Richard, C. J. (2008). Greeks and Romans bearing gifts: How
the ancients inspired the Founding Fathers. Lanham, Md:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Richard, C. J. (1996). The founders and the classics: Greece,

3. Rome and the American Enlightenment. Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.:
Harvard Univ. Press.
Respond to Students Answer:
Plutarch
I did some research and found an article by Telly Halkias titled
“WHY PLUTARCH MATTERS” (2013). I found the article
interesting as Plutarch is credited, by the author, with being the
first to use differing popular writing styles (Halkias 2013). I
am not sure about this claim, but Plutarch does tell more of a
story about each character. Also among the many reasons he
provides for why Plutarch matters he includes how his writings
inspired our Founding fathers (Halkias 2013). The article
provides an interesting, but brief explanation of Plutarch’s
importance. I am not sure of the articles importance except to
provide enough information to crate interest in Plutarch. The
article interested me so I went on to read some of Plutarch’s
work. Plutarch provided Biographies, History, and essays on
differing topics. This provided a great body of work from
which our Founding Fathers could gain knowledge. Plutarch
wrote of Cato’s Valor and humble honor (trans. 1994). He also
provided writings on Caesar which show a man more interested
in power and control (Plutarch. trans. 1994). His works provide
information about the actions and interactions of people in life,
war, and government. This historical reference allowed the
Founding Fathers and us in turn to benefit from the knowledge
of the past. The writings on Cato and Caesar provide insight
into differing strategies they had used for battle. The
information on the political systems allowed for the comparison
and study of benefits and problems within the differing
systems. Information on government providing services such as
water supplies to benefit the public showed some of the positive
public work of government. The Founding Fathers had, in
Plutarch’s account of history, evidence of how the state could
function to improve the lives of the citizens. Perhaps just as
important the writings of Plutarch also include Caesar and his
quest for power (Plutarch. trans. 1994). Plutarch’s writings

4. show how a person’s actions can be honorable and positive.
However, good positive actions are sometimes best understood
when compared to self- serving acts of the greedy or power
hungry. Plutarch provided this contrast by writing about so
many different important people and there interactions with
others. In the end I guess the article was important as it lead
me to read some of Plutarch’s writings.
The video only seems to briefly mention Plutarch. However, it
seems the idea was that the Founding Fathers had often relied
on the wisdom found in the ancient texts. They were creating a
new form of government using the knowledge of a long
successful ancient form of government. They could copy what
they liked and develop changes and improvements. They
learned from the past creating a new version of government by
using and improving on ancient governmental systems. I liked
the video. I find the topic of the Founding Fathers interesting.
I knew some of them had studied ancient texts, but I had not
heard of Plutarch.
Reference
UNE Center for Global Humanities. Carl J. Richard on "Greeks
and Romans Bearing Gifts: How the Ancients Inspired the
Founding Fathers." YouTube, 1:04, March 31,
2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0G8ucOpRxE
Halkias, T. “WHY PLUTARCH MATTERS.”The Portland Sun.
May 2, 2013. Accessed February 26,
2015,http://www.portlanddailysun.me/index.php/opinion/colum
ns/9254-why-plutarch-matters
Plutarch, Cato the Younger, trans. J. Dryden, (Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 1994), accessed February 26,
2015, http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/cato_you.html
Plutarch, Marcus Cato, trans. J. Dryden, (Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 1994), accessed February 26,
2015, http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/mar_cato.html
Plutarch, Caesar, trans. J. Dryden, (Massachusetts Institute of

5. Technology, 1994), accessed February 26,
2015,http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/caesar.html