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How Democratic Was The Roman Republic

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Introduction
The Roman Republic was established in 509 BCE, after a long struggle against kingship. The Roman Republic was characterized by elements of democracy, such as the election of officials and the creation of a representative government. However, the Republic was also marked by undemocratic practices, such as the exclusion of plebeians and women from political power. This paper will discuss the circumstances that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic, the democratic elements of the Republic, and the undemocratic practices that made the Republic questionable.
Circumstances that Led to the Establishment of the Roman Republic
According to legend, Rome was founded by twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, who were raised by a she-wolf. …show more content…

The Etruscans introduced the idea of the monarchy to the Romans, and the Romans initially had kings as their rulers. However, over time, the Roman aristocracy began to resent the absolute power of the kings, and they sought to limit their power. This led to a series of conflicts and ultimately the overthrow of the last Roman king, Tarquin the Proud. In his place, the Romans established a republic with two consuls as the highest officials. The establishment of the Roman Republic was thus a result of a long struggle against the excesses of monarchical …show more content…

The Roman Senate was composed of 300 members, who were chosen from the most prominent families in Rome. The Senate was responsible for making laws and advising the consuls, and its members served for life. In addition to the Senate, there were also other assemblies of the people, such as the Comitia Centuriata, which was responsible for electing consuls and passing laws.
Undemocratic Practices of the Republic
While the Roman Republic was characterized by democratic elements, it was also marked by undemocratic practices. One of the most significant of these was the exclusion of plebeians from political power. In the early years of the Republic, only patricians, who were members of the noble families, were allowed to hold political office. This led to a long struggle by the plebeians to gain political power, which was eventually granted through the creation of the office of the Tribune of the Plebs.
Another undemocratic practice of the Republic was the exclusion of women from political power. Women were not allowed to vote or hold political office, and they were generally relegated to the domestic sphere. This exclusion of women from political power persisted throughout the history of the Republic, and it was not until the late Republic that women began to play a more prominent role in Roman

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The Roman Republic was often known for its lasting influence for the development of Western political governance and ideals and is often hailed as a beacon of democracy in ancient history. But an in depth look reveals it to be more complex. While the Roman Republic held democratic elements that allowed citizen participation and representation, its political structure was ultimately characterized by a significant concentration of power among the elite and few for the average person. This essay will explore the extent of democracy within the Roman Republic, analyzing key aspects such as the electoral system, legislative bodies, and social hierarchy and the democratic nature and the implications it had on the overall governance of the state.

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Polybius goes on to say, “no one can say for sure whether the constitution is an aristocracy or democracy or despotism” in Document A. He then explains how the Roman Republic was each of them, an aristocracy, a democracy, and a despotism, for various reasons. One of these reasons was that, at times, the consuls, or the magistrates, and the Senate had more power than the Assemblies, but in different situations, it was the opposite. This shows that even Polybius, a man who was actually alive during the Roman Republic, didn’t know how to label

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Imperial Rome had a democratic government, where the people voted for everything. They had two classes, the patricians and the plebeians. The Plebeians had all the control over the Senate and the Consuls for a while. Eventually, the plebeians were given control over the Tribunes to give them a voice. The patricians were the wealthy, land owners, and the upper class citizens.

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The Roman Congress Good Bad Indifferent Rome, founded in 753 BC will become one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever seen. This paper will highlighting key aspects of the Roman Senate. The Formation of the Senate, positions within the Senate, elections, how legislation was passed, and Instances of bribery or extortion in the Senate. The progression of Rome as a civilization and as a Mediterranean super power is one of the most thoroughly studied cultures in the world today.

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By this time, it took more effort to vote since people were coming from all over to vote. Rome started to add limits, “How easily a small number of urban residents registered in a rural tribe could determine the vote of that tribe is clear from the small percentage of citizens who actually voted.” (Document C) This shows how little the number of people voted that were actually Roman citizens. The Roman Republic started to become an aristocracy whenever a lot more of the wealthy people came into power.

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In this particular chapter, Polybius contributes how the Romans were able to rise to power was due to the system of government that was in place. He goes into in-depth analysis of the flaws each system of government had in the past, from kingship, aristocracy, and democracy, as well as pointing out their strong points. He stated that “For it is plain that we must regard as the best constitution that which partakes of all three elements (kingship, aristocracy, and democracy)” (Polybius, VI. 3). He concluded with the idea of a mixed government, where each part of the government will serve as a check of balance to one another.

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This shift was not in the form of a sudden revolution, and rather grew as a gradual switch from a monarchy previously under the Etruscans. The republic stood for liberty and extended citizenship of the people. In the Roman republic, the people chose officials to represent their interests. Dominating the government was a senate that was primarily made up of the wealthy, landholding class, known as patricians. This outraged the lower class plebeians, who later gained power and elected their own officials.

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If it weren 't for need for power and jealously/rivalry between generals ( Maricus, Sulla, Caesar, ad Pompey) the republic would have survived, thrived, and been more democratic. Rome developed into a city-state, first ruled by kings, then formed a new form of government called the Republic. For 500 years, Ancient Rome was governed by the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic was not upheld by a written document. The United States government is very similar to Rome’s model of the Republic.

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Notwithstanding these democratic components, the Roman Republic's aristocracy-dominated governance made it ultimately undemocratic. The Senate, which was predominately made up of nobles, held the majority of the republic's power. This indicated that very few people actually influenced the decisions that the government made. (National Geographic Society,

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Throughout ancient history many strong nations fell apart trying to create the perfect government. The Romans were one of the many nations that tried out a democracy, but they didn’t a great job at being fair. The Roman Republic was not a strong democracy because most people didn’t have the money to travel to Rome to vote, only the really wealthy had control over the main part of the government, and the wealthy landowners could rent their land to normal people, but the normal people, instead of paying, had to do pretty much everything the landowner told them to do including going to fight for them. One of the main reasons that it wasn’t a strong democracy was because only the rich people could afford the money to travel to Rome and vote.

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The legislative branch of the United States includes the House of Representatives and the Senate, whose members are elected by the people by the people, and their job is to work together to draft laws. The legislative branch of the Roman republic consisted of the Assemblies whose members were plebeians and sometimes patricians who joined and whose job was to make decisions on laws being passed to the Consuls.(Political Structure…) In the legislative branch there was also the Senate whose members were patricians and whose job was to help make laws. In Rome, someone

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The magistrates and tribunes… were the only ones who could place legislation before the voters.” The small percent of citizens that actually did vote in Ancient Rome were spoon-fed their candidates by higher ups like the magistrates in

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The Roman Republic was an ancient Roman civilization that was created after the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom in 509 BC, and ending in 27 BC with the creation of the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic was created in order for the rich men named aristocrats to gain even more power by removing kings from the Roman government. Soon after, the Roman upper class turned politics into a violent competition in their strive for power. Gaius Marius’ creation of “client armies” led soldiers to become more loyal towards their commander than the republic. This resulted in a commander named Lucius Cornelius Sulla overtaking Rome with his client army and establishing himself as a dictator.

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