Katie Vander Ploeg

History 134
August 14, 2016
Politics and Bureaucracy in Ancient Times
After reading through many articles, watching multiple videos,
and discussing topics with fellow students, it seems as if I could run my
own government. Okay, that may be a stretch, but after learning about
many different civilizations and their governments, it becomes
somewhat obvious how a government should and should not be run.
Learning about politics and bureaucracy was a common occurrence
throughout all the modules. Having a leader, be it a king, an emperor,
or a president, is needed in a society. Without a leader there would be
chaos and trouble. Much can be learned from history, a lot more than I
ever thought. Specially, I learned a lot about government from the
early Romans, imperial Rome, and the Hellenistic world. Although I will
never need to know how to run a government (hopefully), it goes to
show that many lessons can be learned from history. The mistakes and
successes of the people from the past have had taught many life
lessons to me personally and the rest of the world.
In module 8 we learned a great deal about Early and Republican
Rome and their government system. The government system of the
U.S. and Republican Rome are very similar, despite not necessarily
having direct correlation (Kamn). This goes to show that are many

similarities between ancient times and today. When I think about

ancient times I often thing about people whom are very different then
me, but this isnt necessarily the case. Our modern democracy in the
U.S. mirrors that of Republican Rome. It wouldnt be right to say that
the U.S. got their ideas from Rome, because its much more complex
than that, but the similarities show that the U.S. may have learned
something from Republican Rome. Using this type of government
system in Rome furthered their civilization in many ways. After reading
through, On the Rhetorical Use of History to Understand the Present,
it became obvious that what is currently going on our world today can
often be attributed to things that have happened in the past (Dee
Hodges). Where we are today, specifically looking at politics, wouldnt
be the case in if we didnt have things of the past to look at. The past
creates somewhat of a map, which we still follow and change today.
After reading through module 9, Imperial Rome, it became
obvious to me what it takes to be a good leader. A lot can be learned
when reading about Augustus, Nero, Caligula, Commodus, Constantine,
and Romulus Augustulus. Particularly I learned a lot from Augustus, a
great leader who truly cared about his people. Augustus was brought
into power at a not so good time, but he took what he was given and
did his absolute best. He expanded his empire and was later declared a
god (Augustus). Learning lessons about leadership of an empire isnt
really necessary in my life, but they are in others. And even though Im

not going to be an empire, I can learn many lessons from history that I
can apply to my own life. I learned that leaders need to give respect to
others and treat people equally, they cant just sit back and watch
something happen, but rather they need to take action. Having
Augustus as a leader made Rome a better place. According to What
Can History Teach Us Today? History is a lesson: a lesson of
intentions, movements, experiments, and human production; a lesson
that builds integrity and character within our children (Postma). When
someone really takes time to think about history they realize that
many lessons can be learned. Not just from the leaderships and politics
of a country, but everything.
The Hellenistic World showed great examples of what makes a
successful leader as well. It would be very beneficial for people
involved in politics today to read about people like Alexander the Great
and Phillip II. Knowing what it means to be successful, as a leader is
needed in politics could help benefit the country in many ways.
Alexander the Great was able to spread the Greek culture all over the
world in ways that many good leaders wouldnt have been able to do
(Alexander the Great). Learning about these people can help leaders
in government and politics become more effective. It can also help
citizens, like me, know how to treat others in places like work, school,
and in everyday life. Something that goes along with this, that I found
very interesting, is the idea that our interpretation of history is always

changing. McNeill says, Historians are always at work reinterpreting

the past, asking new questions, searching new sources and finding new
meanings in old documents in order to bring the perspective of new
knowledge...what we know and believe about history is always
changing. This means that whatever the reason, be it politics or
something else, we can always look back at what we know about
history and interpret it in a way that helps us better understand a
situation.
So, as a historian of the ancient world, I ask myself: What can I
learn and apply from the history of my ancient ancestors to my own
role in contributing to and acting responsibly for the betterment of
society? Looking at the whole picture, there is a lot I have learned. But
if I narrow in on politics it makes me truly realize how important the
role of a leader is. I now believe that it is my duty as a citizen to vote
for people in power, because having a successful leader is crucial in a
society. Politics and bureaucracy are also very necessary to further a
civilization, as learned throughout this class. Our government isnt
perfect, but if we look back into ancient times, they werent perfect
either. We should study history to learn more about why our world is
the way it is and how we, as citizens, can help make the world a better
place.

Works Cited
"Alexander the Great." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 14
Aug. 2016.
"Augustus." The Roman Empire in the First Century. PBS, 2006. Web.
14 Aug. 2016.
Dee Hodges, Blair. "On the Rhetorical Uses of History to Understand
the
Present." Academia.edu. N.p., 7 May 2012. Web. 14 Aug. 2016.

Kamn, Anotony. "The Romans." The Classics Pages: Antony Kamm's '':
2.3 State
Assemblies. Taylor & Francis Books, n.d. Web. 14 Aug. 2016.
McNeill, William H. "Why Study History?" American Historical
Association. N.p.,
1985. Web. 14 Aug. 2016.
Postma, Michael. "What Can History Teach Us Today?" ASCD Express
6.22. N.p., n.d.
Web. 14 Aug. 2016.