Undergraduate Law Review at Florida State University

The Roman Blueprint: Foundations of American Law and the Need for Change

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Undergraduate Law Review at FSU
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Writer: Alessa Cardaci

Article Editor: Kara Crowther 

Associate Editor: Claire Lowenstein

I. Introduction

    The foundations of American law trace back to Ancient Rome, the civilization that emphasized ideals of family and social order. Yet as society evolves, the law must do the same, adapting to reflect the modern principles of justice and equality. Roman legal traditions profoundly influenced early American ideas about law, family, and social order. The Romans heavily emphasized the value of piety, the idea of living according to their obligations to God and the people around them, which was embedded throughout the creation of their legal system.1 The codification of these pietistic values resulted in societal expectations of stricter social views on which expressions of gender roles, familial structures, and social relationships constituted morally upright behavior.2 Roman law laid the groundwork for many other legal systems worldwide, including America’s; although the legal system may not be directly influenced, the United States still takes inspiration from Ancient Rome’s courtrooms, ideology, and structure.3 However, over centuries, the world and its culture have evolved. Many modern norms, such as women’s suffrage or individuals being able to engage freely in same-sex relationships, were unfathomable back in Ancient Rome. Roman legal traditions have historically played a significant role in shaping early American views, but the law must grow to respond to evolving social norms, ensuring that the legal system promotes equality rather than reinforcing antiquated legal customs. 

    II. The Core Principles of Roman Law

      From its initial foundations, Roman law represented the social values of its time through its legal legislation. The earliest form of Roman legislation, the Twelve Tables, served as the basis for Roman law and dates to around 450 BCE.4 The Twelve Tables contained ideas of trial procedures, public law, punishment, and many other legal concepts that persist in some modern legal systems.5 Notably, the legislation also included regulations on what women could or could not do. The fifth table, which specified inheritance and guardianship, stated that women were to always be under the legal authority of a male guardian, even into adulthood.6 This type of legislation, along with many others listed in the Twelve Tables, allowed the treatment of women to be akin to a form of property or object, thereby normalizing these values within Roman society. Women’s behavior was also regulated through Table X, sacred law, which forbade women from showing any grief during funerals.7 This early legal regulation of women under the Twelve Tables established a precedent for state involvement in private life. 

      Rather than disappearing over time, these principles were expanded under later legislation. For instance, the Lex Iulia et Papia was a form of Augustan legislation composed of two laws that focused on regulating the Roman family and was enacted in nine CE.8 Most notably, it criminalized the act of adultery; however, the punishment for both sides was not equal.9 If a man were to be caught cheating on his wife, then half of his property would be confiscated. But if a husband caught his wife cheating in their home, he was permitted to kill both her and her lover.10 The difference in punishment between the two illustrates the deeper issue of gender inequality built into Roman law. While these laws may have dissolved over time, the precedent for inequality that they established in society was long-lasting and even spread internationally. Some historians have inferred that early legal scholars could have been influenced by Roman laws, which can be seen in the establishment of American courtrooms and legislation.11 These core principles of Roman law highlight that unequal expectations for men and women were embedded in Roman society, a disparity that persisted for decades. 

      III. The Need for Legal Evolution

        As society advances towards greater equality, the law must evolve in order to reflect those values. One of the most significant advancements in recent history is the 1920 ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in the United States. The Nineteenth Amendment gave American women the right to vote following decades of protest for equality.12 The uproar had begun in 1848, during the women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, where women had argued for the right to vote as American citizens.13 Although it took over seven grueling decades, they had succeeded as the Nineteenth Amendment was officially ratified in 1920. The fight for gender equality did not stop there. In the following years, women also gained autonomy through the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, which finally provided women with the ability to operate their own finances and properties.14 Although they are far from perfect, these milestones highlight how legal reform can gradually dismantle long-standing inequalities and strengthen the legal system to better support its people. 

        The Supreme Court of the United States also made significant strides in landmark cases to promote LGBTQIA+ rights through its rulings in Lawrence v. Texas (2003) and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015). Prior to 2003, the state of Texas had criminalized consensual same-sex sexual activity.15 That was until John Lawrence and Tyron Garner took their case to the Supreme Court, claiming that the criminalization of their relationship was unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause within the Fourteenth Amendment, which was ultimately upheld when the Court ruled 6–3 in their favor.16 This ruling laid crucial groundwork for the constitutional protection of LGBTQIA+ individuals in the United States; Obergefell furthered these advancements in 2015 when the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage as protected by the Due Process Clause once more.17 While current LGBTQIA+ rights are far from protected, these landmark decisions demonstrate the capacity for the legal system to expand in the direction of greater equality. 

        IV. Conclusion

          Essentially, Roman law served as a basis for American values and laws, which were embedded with inequality. Whether through the Twelve Tables, the Lex Iulia et Papia, or other Roman legislation, severe inequality was built into the very foundations of Roman ideals. These ideals have spread throughout the world and are reflected in many other legal systems, such as the United States. These values are harmful and only serve to create a power gap in society based solely on gender. Furthermore, same-sex relationships were seen as taboo or outright wrong by many. While the world has evolved in the centuries since these pieces of Roman legislation, it is crucial to ensure that the legal system evolves as well. Fortunately, progress has been made in recent years. Remarkably, in 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote after decades of fighting. Many other pieces of legislation were also passed in the following years, overall granting women greater autonomy after centuries of inequality. In addition, landmark cases Lawrence and Obergefell helped push for equality and normalcy of same-sex relationships. Altogether, these rulings demonstrate how deeply inequality was intertwined in early legal systems. It is essential to continue pushing for equality to ensure that the law evolves with society. As society continues to grow and redefine its understanding of justice, the legal system must respond accordingly. Without continuous reform, outdated ideologies are at risk of resurfacing and upholding the power imbalances that society has worked to overcome in recent years. Therefore, citizens must continue to keep their voices heard, challenge injustice, and demand that the American legal system reflects the principles of equality it claims to uphold. By doing so, this ensures that the law evolves alongside the people it serves.

          1. Hendrik Wagenvoort, Pietas: Selected Studies in Roman Religion (1980). ↩︎
          2. Beryl Rawson, A Companion to Families in the Greek and Roman Worlds (2011). ↩︎
          3. Kara Sears, Are U.S. Laws Rooted in Roman Civil Law? Exploring Legal Origins, LawShun (Sep. 2025), https://perma.cc/KY3X-GPHD. ↩︎
          4. Michael Steinberg, The Twelve Tables and Their Origins: An Eighteenth-Century Debate, 43 J. Hist. Ideas 379 (1982). ↩︎
          5. Mark Cartwright, Twelve Tables, World History Encyclopedia (Apr. 2016), https://perma.cc/5TE4-DK6S. ↩︎
          6. Samuli Hurri, The Twelve Tables, 1 No Founds. 13 (2005). ↩︎
          7. E. B. Conant, The Laws of The Twelve Tables, 13 St. Louis L. Rev. (1927). ↩︎
          8. Jacob Giltaji, Lex Papia Poppaea, Oxford Classical Dictionary (Feb. 2019), https://perma.cc/U57J-UF3G. ↩︎
          9. Thomas McGinn, Concubinage and the Lex Iulia on Adultery, 121 Trans. Am. Philological Ass’n. 335 (1991). ↩︎
          10. Katrina York, Feminine Resistance to Moral Legislation in the Early Empire, 1 Imperial Women 1 (Nov. 2006). ↩︎
          11. Michael Hoeflich, Roman Law in American Legal Culture, 66 Tul. L. Rev. 1723 (1992). ↩︎
          12. Michael Levy, Nineteenth Amendment, Britannica (Jan. 2026), https://perma.cc/6AV3-EPWP. ↩︎
          13. Jennifer Brown, The Nineteenth Amendment and Women’s Equality, 102 Yale L.J. 2175 (1993). ↩︎
          14. James Smith, The Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974: A Cost/Benefit Analysis, 32 J. Fin. 609 (1977). ↩︎
          15. Marc Spindleman, Surviving Lawrence v. Texas Colloquium: The Boundaries of Liberty after Lawrence v. Texas, 102 Mich. L. Rev. 1615 (2004). ↩︎
          16. Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003). ↩︎
          17. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). ↩︎

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