[Antoninus]

The Roman Republic lasted 482 years (509–27 BC), during which adult male Roman citizens voted for officials and laws, although the system heavily favored the wealthy elite.

The last 100 years or so of the Republic were hardly republican. Before that, Rome was a state with a few hundred thousand actual voters at most. Also, the morality embraced by the Romans during the early and middle republic was proto-Christian in that it valued order, obedience, honesty, self-sacrifice and loyalty. One could argue that this cultural framework is what made Christianity very attractive to traditional Romans--almost like it was ordained by Providence.

[MinorityRepublican]

The last 100 years or so of the Republic were hardly republican.

The Roman Republic and the American Republic were similar in that both began with relatively small populations and territories before expanding into large, influential powers.