In an emerging American Republic whose early citizens had to define the national character from scratch, the stately building style, borrowed from the ancients, became a perfect mode of expression. Classical architecture as glorified in Ancient Athens was seen as the perfect medium to express the Democratic Ethos of the new-born American Republic.
The Greek Revival style of architecture—imbued with balance, adaptability, and democratic roots—became the first truly national manner of building in the United States, the dominant architectural style from the 1810s until the onset of the Civil War and one that still echoes American culture today.