It is said that the governmental structure of the United States and many other countries borrowed the elements of the ancient Roman Republic. Rome was a prominent empire in history because of its republican system, culture, architecture and art. However, Rome was not a republic in the very beginning. Instead, it exercised the monarchy in the early years where kings ruled and held the ultimate power of Rome. In this paper, I will explore how Rome was led to the establishment of the Roman Republic, the democratic elements and non-democratic elements of the Republic.
What circumstances led to the establishment of the Roman Republic?
At first, Rome was ruled by seven kings, 3 of them were Etruscan kings. Under the rule of Etruscan kings, Rome
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Plebeians, the lower class of Rome, could elect the Tribunes, who could veto the Consuls and Senate.
Which elements made you question the Republic’s democratic nature?
Although it had a certain form of democratic features, the Roman Republic was not a completely democratic government. The following are the elements that could question the Republic's democratic nature to a certain degree.
Slaves and women were not citizens, nor had the right to participate in politics.
All citizens must serve in the army, and only those who had served at least 10 years in the army could be eligible as consuls and magistrates (Saint Leo University, 2021).
There were severe class distinctions. Senators were patricians, the upper class people, and the Consuls were also from the senatorial classes (Saint Leo University, 2021).
Some political bodies were more powerful than others. For instance, the Senate was more influential in politics, because it was dominated by wealthy patricians.
In times of emergency, one man could hold the ultimate power along with the title of Dictator to rule Rome for six months (Shiffer,