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.
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.
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.
The Roman Empire and Roman Republic were two distinct periods in the history of ancient Rome. The Roman Republic was established in 509 BC, following the overthrow of the Etruscan monarchy. It lasted until 27 BC when the Roman Empire was established under the rule of Augustus. One of the main differences between the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire was their form of government. The Roman Republic was a system of government where elected officials represented the people.
In republican Rome, the Patricians held most of the political power. The Patricians were only a very small percentage of the population that were educated, wealthy, and powerful. The Romans created a code a law called the 12 Tables of Law. It was not fair but it demonstrated punishment for bad behavior. America can learn from the past and history of Rome to make better decisions for America’s future.
How Roman Republic changed overtime For 200 years early Rome was ruled by a series of Kings. Rome was upset at the way they were being treated. They decided to overthrow the King and this was the beginning of the Roman Republic. A large group of men ran the Roman Republic and were called members of the Senate.
For example, every adult male had a vote, unless they were disqualified. As stated in our World History textbook, Rome was divided into two group; Patricians, who were the wealthy landowners and the Plebeians who were small farmers and merchants. Each group had a role in government. The Roman Republic's government had three branches, almost like the United States has today.
When considering the framework of ancient times and current forms of government, and considering its limited representative elements, Rome remains an outstanding example of a successful ancient government. People were divided into different classes. Patricians were wealthy citizens of Rome. When the Roman Empire started to grow and Rome became a powerful city, top government position became more and more popular. Therefore, more and more ambitious men got involved in government.
Patricians are the higher class and they are wealthy. Also, they are the only ones allowed to be in the government. Their percentage of the population is a small junk of Rome. To be a patrician, you had to have been given birth by a patrician. Now the plebeian on the other hand is every other person in Rome.
Introduction I will be describing who the patricians and the plebeians are, their economic status, their political differences, and what led to the first plebeian revoltas I write on in this essay. The strife between the two class, orders is important in Roman history since the end result of the two coming together ballowed Rome to become as powerful as it did become. The Patricians The patricians were the direct descendants of the old Roman families. “Patrician” comes from the Latin word “patre” meaning “fathers” (Patricians, n.d.), and they had full political rights.
They exercised great political and religious power. On the other hand, the plebeians were a free Roman and were a common group of people that include the poor and that wealthy land owner. We can notice that the majority of them from the wealthy, but they were ordinary citizens not elite. They worked in agriculture, construction, selling, and crafts. The distinction between patricians and plebeians in Ancient Rome was so big, for example, no one could become a patrician simply by acquiring wealth or political power
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
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.
The Romans themselves believed that the two distinct classes dates back to Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome, who chose the patricians to form the first senate (University of South Florida USF, n.d., p.2). What are the distinctions of the patricians and the plebeians, and how did they lead to secession? In this essay I will discuss some of the differences between the patricians and plebeians and will explore some of the reasons for the plebeians to revolt. The battle between the classes is known as the struggle of orders, was it a successful struggle?
The Roman government had many bodies, The Senate was a body which had 300 members, the senate was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. It was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. Various popular assemblies in which all citizens voted on laws and elected officials. Officials were called magistrates, who put the law into practice, governed in the name of the senate and people, and acted as priests. The point when the most recent ruler was taken out by two magistrates known as consuls.
