Julius Caesar across borders: The ethos of the American republic

Abstract

In order to endow the newborn American state with legitimacy, the founders of the country sought a connection to the ancient Roman republican past. William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar has an honoured place in the creation of that American democratic ethos. While performances during the colonial and post-revolutionary periods may have been rare, this play was frequently taught at that time, usually in excerpted format. While Shakespeare's text is ambiguous ideologically, balanced between libertarian and conservative monarchical elements, these excerpts constructed an unabashedly republican drama whose purpose was to advocate for democracy, infusing the patriotic ethos of the republic into American youth and immigrants.