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The phrase "America is Rome" forced Gibbon's book into America's founding debate
A punk rocker, Gibbon’s Decline and Fall, and a revolutionary year collide - was America Rome?
The phrase "America is Rome" forced Gibbon's book into America's founding debate
In this episode, we follow how Edward Gibbon’s six-volume Decline and Fall entered unexpected conversations from 1776 to the late twentieth century and why readers kept returning to its narrative of imperial decay. What made Gibbon’s framing - especially his claim about Christianity’s role - so durable and combustible across centuries and contexts?
Person: Edward Gibbon
Date: February 1776 (volume one published)
Event…
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