It took the Roman Republic less than 30 years to go from the Gracchi brothers incident (133BC) to the first consulship of Gaius Marius in 107BC, a divisive popu

It took the Roman Republic less than 30 years to go from the Gracchi brothers incident (133BC) to the first consulship of Gaius Marius in 107BC, a divisive populist who was elected consul an unprecedented 7 times. From then on, we have the Social war in 91BC (effectively a civil war in Italy), Sulla's civil wars (against Marius) culminating in his dictatorship in 82BC, and ultimately Julius Caesar's civil wars culminating in his dictatorship in 49BC, which marks the end of the Republic. An incident like the Gracchi brothers' populist power grab, which led to the first significant outbreak of political violence in Rome in centuries, was not immediately transformative but it did sow the seeds of conflict. I personally think Trump, and especially Jan 6th, is the Gracchi brothers moment of the USA.