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Ancient Rome and the Constitution, Part IV: Historical and Constitutional Lessons the Founders Learned From the Romans

The founding generation drew lessons from Roman history when fashioning the structure of the Constitution.
Ancient Rome and the Constitution, Part IV: Historical and Constitutional Lessons the Founders Learned From the Romans
A bust of Cicero in Rome in a file photo. Andrea Izzotti/Shutterstock
Rob Natelson
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Commentary
This is the fourth installment in the “Ancient Rome and the Constitution” series. The first installment depicted the central place of Roman writings in the Founding-Era educational curriculum, and the popularity of Roman references among the general public. The second installment thumbnailed Roman history and identified the writers with major influence on the Founders’ political thought. The third described the process by which the Constitution was proposed and adopted, and showed how Roman history offered moral lessons to the Founders.
Rob Natelson
Rob Natelson
Author
Robert G. Natelson, a former constitutional law professor who is senior fellow in constitutional jurisprudence at the Independence Institute in Denver, authored “The Original Constitution” (4th ed., 2025). He is a contributor to The Heritage Foundation’s “Heritage Guide to the Constitution.” He also researched and wrote the scholarly article “Virgil and the Constitution,” whose publication is pending in Regent University Law Review.