July 4, 1776

"Washington Crossing the Delaware", Emanuel Leutze, oil on canvas, 1851, depicts Washington's attack on the Hessians at Trenton on December 25, 1776

July 4th, 1776 the Continental Congress wrote :

 "We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown...".
-The Declaration of Independence

The founders of the American republic studied deeply the experiences and histories of past republics and democracies to inform their design of system of government that balances power and responsibilities between three branches (executive, legislative and judicial) and two levels (federal and state).

The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 essays written in 1787 and 1788 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym "Publius." These essays were written to support the ratification of the United States Constitution and to explain how the new system of government would work.

Hamilton wrote in the Federalist papers about the Roman Republic as a cautionary example of dividing executive authority between two leaders:

The Roman history records many instances of mischiefs to the republic from the dissensions between the Consuls, and between the military Tribunes, who were at times substituted for the Consuls. But it gives us no specimens of any peculiar advantages derived to the state from the circumstance of the plurality of those magistrates. That the dissensions between them were not more frequent or more fatal, is a matter of astonishment, until we advert to the singular position in which the republic was almost continually placed, and to the prudent policy pointed out by the circumstances of the state, and pursued by the Consuls, of making a division of the government between them.
-Alexander Hamilton, 

Even after ratification of the Constitution, the Roman example continued to serve founding fathers considering the ideals of good government. Thomas Jefferson wrote to John Adams, on 10 December, 1819, from Monticello:

"I have been amusing myself latterly with reading the voluminous letters of Cicero. they certainly breathe the purest effusions of an exalted patriot, while the parricide Caesar is left in odious contrast. When the enthusiasm however kindled by Cicero’s pen & principles subsides into cool reflection, I ask myself: What was that government which the virtues of Cicero were so zealous to restore, & the ambition of Caesar to subvert? and if Caesar had been as virtuous as he was daring and sagacious, what could he, even in the plenitude of his usurped power have done to lead his fellow citizens into good government?"
-Thomas Jefferson to John Adams

Defenders of Liberty

Liberty was a defining feature of Roman identity in the time of the republic. The Roman people prided themselves on their freedom and their system of government, which they saw superior to monarchies and tyrannies.

Liberty was tied to the Roman virtues of duty, honor, and civic responsibility. Citizens of the Roman Republic were expected to contribute to the public good and to defend the republic’s liberties against internal and external threats.

Marcus Junius Brutus lived these principles and celebrated the long history of his family defending libertas (liberty). He is the Brutus of the Ides of March, one of the men who assassinated Julius Caesar to protect the republic from the tyranny of a despot and would-be king. Brutus is said to have exclaimed "sic semper tyrannis" ("thus always tyrants") after the assassination of Julius Caesar, as political and moral justification for opposing and overthrowing a tyrannical ruler.

Roman Republican, M. Junius Brutus, 54 BC, AR denarius, Rome, struck 54 BC

Obv: Bearded and bare-headed head right of L. Junius Brutus; BRVTVS.

Rev: Bearded and bare-headed head right of Caius Servilius Ahala; AHALA

Size: 3.96g, 17-19mm

Ref: Crawford 433/2; Junia 30

The Obverse of this coin references the founding of the Roman Republic. The portrait of the moneyer's ancestor, Lucius Junius Brutus, tells the story of the Romans overthrowing the monarchy in 509 BC. This Brutus of 509, nephew to Rome's seventh king, Tarquinius Superbus, and grandson to Rome's 5th king, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, led the revolt that banished the king and his family. He was then elected as one of the first two consuls of the new republic. M. Junius Brutus, in 54 BC claimed this Brutus as his ancestor in his father's family.

The Reverse of this coin shows another ancestor of M. Junius Brutus, Gaius Servilius Structus Ahala, who in 439 murdered Spurius Maelius for plotting to make himself king. Ahala an ancestor from Brutus' mother's family, and so he proclaims that he is the descendant of two tyrannicides.

A decade later, in 44 BC, Brutus would be one of the leaders of the conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar on the Ides of March. In hindsight this is a prescient coin. At the time, 54 BC, the coin was a celebration of liberty, freedom from tyranny, the founding of the republic, and Brutus’ ancestors. (see a related note on Cassius Conspirator)

George Washington had a play "Cato, A tragedy" performed at Valley Forge in 1778 to rally the troops....but that is another coin and another story (see Cato the Younger).

The U.S. Coinage Act of 1792 states:

"SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That, upon the said coins respectively, there shall be the following devices and legends, namely: Upon one side of each of the said coins there shall be an impression emblematic of liberty, with an inscription of the word Liberty, and the year of the coinage..."
-US Mint, Coinage Act of 1792 

One of the first coins issued under the Coinage Act of 1792 shows the Roman goddess Libertas and her classical attributes of cap (pileus) and staff (vindicta). This coin draws inspiration from an earlier 1783 medal issued by Benjamin Franklin and designed by Augustin Dupré. (See: Libertas Americana)

The liberty cap was and important symbol in the American revolution and on American coins. The liberty cap also appears on a more famous coin of Brutus - the EID MAR.

Happy 4th of July!

Note: these notes were first written 4 July 2019 and revised 4 July 2024

Painting by E.Leutze is public domain and used with thanks the NY Metropilitan Museum.