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Essay / Similarities Between the Personalities of Julius Caesar and King George Iii
The situations of the Roman conspirators in the play Julius Caesar and the signers of the Declaration of Independence had many similarities. A major similarity lies in the personalities of Julius Caesar and King George III. There were several honorable men in Rome who knew that Julius Caesar was very ambitious and sorely lacking in good morals. Julius Caesar was a coward and did everything he could to get ahead and bring down others in the process. King George III also had very poor morals and did everything he could to improve his personal situation and not that of his people – he too was overly ambitious. The Declaration of Independence describes how the king imposed taxes on colonists without their consent and summoned legislative bodies to “unusual, uncomfortable, and distant places…for the sole purpose of tiring them into compliance with his measures.” King George III unfairly collected money from the people and made it extremely difficult for colonists to participate in politics. This shows that he wanted everything to be convenient for him, even at the expense of others, so that he could advance and be more prosperous than everyone else. Both Julius Caesar and King George III were too selfishly ambitious. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay The main difference between the situation of the authors of the Declaration of Independence and that of the Roman conspirators is that King George III was already a tyrant when the Declaration was written but Julius Caesar had not yet become king when he was assassinated. The Declaration of Independence was therefore written as a reactionary measure against wrongs already committed, while the men who assassinated Julius Caesar murdered him as a preventative measure against possible wrongs that might be committed if Caesar became king. Another similarity is that there was a discussion among the revolutionaries before the Declaration was written and before Julius Caesar died. Brutus and Cassius discussed the possible consequences if Caesar became king, and then they met with a large group of other conspirators. Before the Declaration of Independence was written, representatives from each colony met and discussed the severing of ties between America and England. The conspirators and writers carefully thought out and planned their decisions in large groups. The goals of the Roman conspirators and the American revolutionaries were also both very similar and different. The main goal of the Roman conspirators was to prevent Caesar from becoming king and maintaining the republic. The framers of the Declaration of Independence wanted to separate the 13 colonies from Great Britain and create a new country. The difference between these two objectives is obvious. The Romans intended to maintain a republic and the Americans wanted to build a new republic. The Romans wanted to keep the country as it was, the Americans wanted to create a new country. However, the Roman conspirators and authors of the Declaration of Independence wanted to save their country (or colonies) from the rule of an unfit king. . They understood that the people could not prosper under the rule of such a king, and so the Roman conspirators killed the would-be king, and the authors of the Declaration wrote a declaration to the King of England declaring their independence. Both groups of revolutionaries had noble intentions and wanted to save their countries. Another major difference between their goals was that the Roman conspirators wanted to kill the futureking, and that the authors of the Declaration of Independence only wanted to separate from him. the reign of the king then in force. The Roman conspirators, however, did not want to start a war. They believed that the people would accept that Caesar was dead and would understand and agree that it was a good thing. The writers of the Declaration of Independence had at least some idea that war would be inevitable. This is demonstrated in the last paragraph of the Declaration of Independence where it says "...as free and independent States, they have full power to wage war, to conclude peace..." This shows that the writers knew that the States should go to war at some point. The actions of the Roman conspirators were very severe and were unlikely to result in difficulty, while the actions of the writers were less immediately intense, but were expected to result in immense conflict between England and the colonies. The means and methods used by the conspirators and the authors of the Declaration of Independence to incite change are extremely different in one important respect: the conspirators killed the future king to bring about change, but the authors of the Declaration simply wrote a letter to the king. The writers have committed treason; the conspirators committed murder. However, both provoked war, so it is difficult to determine which act was more violent. The conspirators and writers, however, presented the reasons for their actions to the public. This was a necessary method of promoting change, as it required the support of the people to affirm the decisions made and then fight the opposing camp. One of the conspirators, Brutus, gave a speech explaining to the people why he had killed Caesar and why change was necessary. The framers of the Declaration of Independence had the document published and read aloud throughout the colonies. Each group presented their opinions to the public in order to gain support and promote change. Another difference between the means the two groups used to bring about change was that the Roman conspirators simply killed Caesar – they did not try to talk to or reason with him. with him first - while the authors of the Declaration of Independence say: "At every stage of these oppressions we have demanded redress in the humblest terms..." The action of the conspirators was immediate and drastic, while the actions of the writers were civil and spread over a long period. Several factors may help explain the success of the American change effort as opposed to the Roman failure. One such factor is that the speech given by Brutus was immediately followed by a speech by Caesar's right-hand man, Mark Antony. Mark Antony turned public opinion against the conspirators, which led the people to rise up against the conspirators. This negated any support the conspirators had gained after Brutus's speech and transformed the conspirators' efforts from efforts for change to efforts for survival. The authors of the Declaration of Independence published the declaration and made it widely read. It listed all the wrongs committed by the English king against the colonies, reminding the colonists (or convincing them) how angry they were with England. This gave instant support to the framers of the Declaration, making it much easier for them to fight against England. The Declaration of Independence did not have a counterargument offered immediately afterward, like Brutus's speech, and therefore had a much more lasting impact on the people. Another reason why the Roman conspirators failed was.