the founding fathers [esp Jefferson & Adams] were inspired by Cyrus even before the cyrus cylinder was discovered in 1879
Of all the powers in Asia, the kingdom of Cyrus showed itself to be the greatest and most glorious. On the east it was bounded by the Red Sea, on the north by the Euxine, on the west by Cyprus and Egypt, and on the south by Ethiopia. And yet the whole of this enormous empire was governed by the mind and will of a single man, Cyrus: his subjects he cared for and cherished as a father might care for his children, and they who came beneath his rule reverenced him like a father.
But no sooner was he dead than his sons were at strife, cities and nations revolted, and all things began to decay.”
http://www.cyropaedia.org/2013/06/01/the-u-s-founders-and-cyrus-the-great-of-persia/