Click here to view original web page at fee.org
Ancient Rome’s many social and economic achievements gave the Founding Fathers the confidence to set out a plan for building their new country in the Declaration of Independence.
As set out in my book Pugnare: Economic Success and Failure , how the empire informed the start of America is easy to see. As many of the Founding Fathers received a classical education, in Latin and Cicero, they would be well versed in how the structure of the Roman economy and society allowed it to spread its borders and increase trade.
A key lesson from the empire was about price stability. You could travel from Britannia in the far north-west to Judaea in the east and back to Africa Proconsularis in the south, and the prices of goods and the value of your coins would be the same. This was because of a fixed exchange rate, set by government decree, between gold (Aureus), silver (Denarius), and copper or brass coins (Sestertius and Dupondius).
A universally accepted currency and exchange rate across the Mediterranean basin and the provinces governed by Rome enormously facilitated commerce by removing the need for the physical transportation of physical coins. That was because traders could carry the Roman equivalent of a cheque which would be accepted as being worth as much as it would be in gold and silver coins. Very few coins have been found on Roman shipwrecks that happened before AD 250 as large transactions could be carried out without hard currency.
Enabling commerce at scale was an ambition of the Founding Fathers. “These United Colonies… have full power to… establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do,” they wrote in the Declaration of Independence .
People across the Roman empire prospered from free trade, with a large shipping fleet […]
Yes, We Need Your Help
I hate being “that guy” who asks people to donate because I think our conservative news network is so crucial, but here I am…
When I left my cushy corporate job in 2017, I did so knowing that my family would have to make sacrifices. But I couldn’t continue to watch the nation slip into oblivion and was inspired by President Trump’s willingness to fight the good fight even at his own personal expense. What I didn’t realize then is that conservative media would be so heavily attacked, canceled, and defunded that the sacrifices would be extreme.
Many in this nation are struggling right now even though we weren’t struggling just a few years ago. I’m not alone. But I wake up every morning and operate the sites we’ve been able to build because there’s really no other choice. I refuse to be beholden to Big Tech like so many other conservative news outlets, which is why you won’t see Google ads here. With that said, it’s often challenging to pay the bills and it’s even harder to expand so we can get the America First message out to a wider audience.
The economic downturn has forced me to make a plea for help. Between cancel culture, lockdowns, and diminishing ad revenue, we need financial assistance in order to continue to spread the truth. We ask all who have the means, please donate through our Giving Fuel. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to expand our reach so the truth can get to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.
We currently operate:
- NOQ Report
- Conservative Playlist
- Uncanceled News
- Based Underground
- Five other conservative news sites
I would even be willing to entertain investments and partnerships at this stage. I’ve turned them down in the past because editorial purity is extremely important. I’ll turn them down again if anyone wants us to start supporting RINOs or avoid “taboo” topics like voter fraud, vaccines, or transgender supremacy. But I’d talk to fellow America First patriots who want to help any (or all) of our 10 news sites. Hit me up at jdrucker (at) substack (dot) com if you’re interested.
For those who have the means and just want to help keep the mission of spreading a conservative, Christian message to the nation, please consider a generous donation.