



The fall of Rome is a highly debated event in the academic arena. The first debate that ensues is: When did the Roman Empire actually fall? Was it when Rome was sacked by the barbarians in the 5th century? Or when the Byzantine Empire fell? Was the Byzantine Empire really part of the Roman Empire? Lucky for you and for me, we will not be discussing all of this on a technical level. We will be looking at some common sense reasons the Roman Empire fell. Rome started off a republic and became an Empire. The United States of America started off as a Constitutional Republic. I fear that our approach to government has been shifting in the last century to become more like an Empire. If we can pin point where the shifts of the Republic started to become an Empire then maybe we can save our country.

The fall of Rome is a highly debated event in the academic arena. The first debate that ensues is: When did the Roman Empire actually fall? Was it when Rome was sacked by the barbarians in the 5century? Or when the Byzantine Empire fell? Was the Byzantine Empire really part of the Roman Empire? Lucky for you and for me, we will not be discussing all of this on a technical level. We will be looking at some common sense reasons the Roman Empire fell. Rome started off a republic and became an Empire. The United States of America started off as a Constitutional Republic. I fear that our approach to government has been shifting in the last century to become more like an Empire. If we can pin point where the shifts of the Republic started to become an Empire then maybe we can save our country.





Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. nd century the Roman Empire started to make impure coins, thus lowering the value of the coins. We do this in America by using a system called the Federal Reserve (FED). The FED prints more money and redistributes it to where the government or foreign governments would like it to go. This devalues the people’s money and their investments, thus crippling the economy. (For more on the Federal Reserve and how it works click When looking back through Roman history we see that they had a senate much like ours today, minus the dresses. The people were able to vote and had people to represent them. Rome began to grow. It had a healthy economy based on free market and sound money. By sound money, I mean that it was based on gold, silver, and bronze coins. These coins had a fixed worth based on the market and the government only regulated the quality of the metal. Ludwig von Mises, Austrian School economist, concludes that one of the causes of the deterioration of the Roman Empire was the introduction to fiat money. In the 2century the Roman Empire started to make impure coins, thus lowering the value of the coins. We do this in America by using a system called the Federal Reserve (FED). The FED prints more money and redistributes it to where the government or foreign governments would like it to go. This devalues the people’s money and their investments, thus crippling the economy. (For more on the Federal Reserve and how it works click here George Santayana wrote, “





As the economy was struggling Rome continued its expansion. Through military conquest Rome conquered most of Europe, a lot of the Middle East and all of northern Africa. In doing this they created enemies, as does any military during warfare. As they would go through their tours of conquering lands and bringing these people under their rule they would have these people join their military and the people started to fight in and among the Roman military. They fought against the Romans on all sides. In the world today there are 195 countries, the United States has troops in 150 of those countries. That is a whopping 76% of the world in which we have our military. Not all of these countries’ citizens love the idea of having a foreign military on their soil. This year alone there has been massive protest in Japan Bishkek, Italy , and right now in the Philippines . This is not something known to the average American, because we are told by our politicians and media that our military is welcomed everywhere because we bring good tidings of the great joy of democracy. This is not the case. Our military presence is creating more enemies where ever they are present. The CIA calls this blowback. T blowback “refers to the unintended consequences of policies that were kept secret from the American people. What the daily press reports as the malign acts of "terrorists" or "drug lords" or "rogue states" or "illegal arms merchants" often turns out to be blowback from earlier American operations.” (Chalmers Johnson in Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire ) he term“refers to the unintended consequences of policies that were kept secret from the American people. What the daily press reports as the malign acts of "terrorists" or "drug lords" or "rogue states" or "illegal arms merchants" often turns out to be blowback from earlier American operations.” (Chalmers Johnson in





No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury , except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger …”. War produces the need for a strong leader who can make quick decisions. During war you cannot have people debating where to attack and if a place is safe. These decisions have to be made by a person and they have to make quickly. It is no wonder that in Rome the emperors were their top military leaders. To contain this power, the founding fathers put into law that congress was the one to declare war. War is supposed to be thought out and the cost has to be counted. It should be a topic that is debated. Thus, the congressmen that represent the people should make that decision. Now in America we have the War Powers Resolution of 1973 which states that the president can now “declare war” on a country. Congress has 60 days to decide if they agree and then after the 60 days the president has 30 days to pull the troops. So if congress was to declare the war unjust, the troops would have been fighting an unconstitutional, unlawful, war for 3 months. In modern warfare, 3 months can make a whole lot of difference. Thus, congress is obligated to continue the war in justifying the money and lives that have been spent. The third and final comparison is a combination of the two first points, an Emperor. An Emperor is created when you live in a state of constant war. Even the Constitution makes exceptions for times of war. “



