Caesar’s Column

Caesar's Column is a utopian novel written by Ignatius Donnelly and published in 1891. The novel depicts the United States in the year 1988, under the oppressive rule of a financial oligarchy, with a subjugated working class. Donnelly's work is notable for predicting technological advancements such as radio, television, and poison gas. The novel resonated with the Populist Party, which represented farmers and laborers, and Donnelly was instrumental in its founding.1

It is important to distinguish Donnelly's Caesar's Column from the historical monument, Trajan's Column in Rome, which commemorates Emperor Trajan's military campaigns.2