DO NOW: Match• Romulus and Remus• Hannibal• Julius Caesar• Marc Antony• Octavius (Augustus)• Caligula• Praetorian Guard• Nero• Barbarians

• conquered Rome.• defeated Marc Antony, so

he became emperor.• used bread and circuses to

stop the poor from rebelling.

• defeated Pompey, so he became dictator.

• betrayed Rome for Egypt.• tried to get revenge after

Rome took three islands.• founded Rome.• killed Roman emperors.• made the Christians his

scapegoat.

SLAVERY / EXPLOITATION

SWBAT explain how the growth of slavery contributed

to the fall of the Roman Empire.

SWBAT explain how the growth of slavery threatened the United

States and how exploitation still

threatens the United States today.

POLITICAL CORRUPTION

SWBAT explain how corrupt leadership

contributed to the fall of the Roman

Empire.

SWBAT explain how corrupt leadership

threatened the United States.

ECONOMIC TROUBLESSWBAT explain how economic

troubles contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire.

SWBAT explain how economic

troubles threaten the United States.

The Decline and Fall of Rome• Rome’s economy was based on ________ and __________ goods

with its provinces, but Rome couldn’t afford to maintain an ________ large enough to protect the growing Empire

• To pay for the army, Rome decided to raise _________

• When high taxes didn’t work, Rome printed more _________, but that didn’t help either… it just led to ___________.

• Rome still couldn’t afford to maintain the __________

• To better manage the Empire, Emperor Diocletian split the Empire into _____ pieces, but that still didn’t help!

• The edge of the empire started to crack! The Visigoths, Vandals, and other _____________ tribes invaded the Roman Empire

TAXING TRADING

ARMY

TAXES

MONEYINFLATION

ARMY

TWO

BARBARIAN

Government Spending

• Rome– Where money

went:• Huge army to

protect the Empire’s frontier

• “Bread and circuses” to prevent the poor from rebelling

– Where money did not go:• Internal problems

like crumbling buildings, roads, aqueducts, etc.

• United States– Where money goes:

• Huge army to fight war in Afghanistan

• Social Security and Medicare for elderly

• Food stamps and Medicaid for poor

– Where money does not go:• Internal problems

like collapsing cities (Detroit, Cleveland, etc.)

$3.5 trillion in total!

Defense Spending

• The United States spends more money on the military than the next fourteen countries combined!

Department of Defense: $625 billion

Department of Housing and Urban Development: $48 billion

18% of the federal budget is dedicated to defense.

Meanwhile, cities like Detroit are just left to fall apart…

Department of Defense: $625 billion

Department of Housing and Urban Development: $48 billion

The government spent $3.5 trillion in total!

But the government collected only $2.8 trillion in taxes and other revenue…

Debt

• The USA is $17 trillion in debt!If you stacked up 17 trillion $1 billls, the stack would go to the moon…and back to Earth…and back to the moon…and back to Earth…and back to the moon AGAIN!!!

Debt• Rome• Rome did not really

go into debt because they had a “solution”

• United States• $17 trillion in debt!

• On the news, we’ve seen the bankrupt countries of Greece and Italy. Could we be next? How do we solve this problem?

The solution is…

THE ROMAN “SOLUTION”

THE DEMOCRAT “SOLUTION”

THE REPUBLICAN “SOLUTION”

Inflation

• Rome– Instead of raising taxes or

spending less, Rome made more money

• Nero’s coins had 90% silver content

• Two centuries later, coins had only 0.2% silver content

– Inflation: The money was worth less, so everything cost more!

• A measure of wheat went from 8 drachmas to 120,000 drachmas

• United States– Instead of raising

taxes or spending less, our government sometimes prints more money

– Inflation: Now our money is worth less than ever before, so everything costs more!

As coins became worth less, soldiers demanded to be paid more.

Inflation

Exit Ticket

• 1 thing that surprises me

• 1 thing that upsets me

• 1 thing that scares me

• 1 thing that still confuses me / 1 question I still have