During the reign of ancient Rome, they had adapted the title of a Roman Republic. A republic is a form of rule in which citizens elect representatives to carry out government positions and responsibilities. In ancient Rome, the two leaders, as well as other political officials, were elected by the people in order to make policy decisions on their behalf. Similarly, the United States Constitution is a republic, where citizens are able to elect representatives, such as congressmen, to carry out political responsibilities for them. While under the British rule, the American colonists were not allowed to hold elections to choose representatives to be in Parliament. Because the colonists did not have fair representation, the writers of the Constitution decided to include the concept of republicanism, which was adapted by the Roman Republic, into the Constitution. In another sense, the ancient civilization of Rome and Greece used a system of checks and balances in their government, which was also imprinted into the United States Constitution. Checks and balances are when one branch of a political system has the power to check, or limit, the power of the other two branches to prevent abuses of power. To illustrate, the Roman Republic’s Senate, who were wealthy aristocrats, …show more content…
During the first colonial establishments, not only was it one of the first instances of self-governance, but it was a well recalled colonial event that was impactful to the writers of the Constitution, especially regarding the Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower Compact was a signed document, or charter, created by the men who founded the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts in 1620 after veering off course from a journey to Virginia. The Plymouth settlers used this charter as a self-governance agreement since all men agreed to sign it and follow the laws embedded. The idea of popular sovereignty that was used in the Mayflower Compact influenced the Constitution since the founders of the Plymouth Colony idolized a government that required the consent of all the journey’s inhabitants. Moreover, in the Constitution, the idea of popular sovereignty was also included for voting procedures since the citizens are responsible for voting and choosing government officials. The founders included this concept into the Constitution because it demonstrates that citizens are responsible for giving the government their consent to rule. In time, after the British Empire gained complete control over the Thirteen Colonies, they took away the colonist’s rights to be fairly