Patricians Vs Plebeians Essay

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The two classes of Roman citizen, the Patricians and the Plebeians, put aside their differences and untied to rid Rome of its monarchy and establish a republic. Unfortunately for the Plebeians this republic was not to be a democratic one, as we saw in our studies of Greece, but an aristocratic one that placed them in a position of great disadvantage and would cause them to rise up against the Patricians to fight for a more just economic and political position. Although the Plebeians did their fair share in ridding Rome of the Kings and establishing the new republic, they shared in very few of the fruits of their labors. Under the new republic, the Plebeians could vote in the general assembly (the comitia centuriata), but they were not able to hold any office or to vote in the senate. This gave them very little say in the political matters of the new republic. The Plebeians might have even gone along with the Patrician rule if it had been more fair and benign and not so self-serving. First was the economic division between the classes. The Patricians were wealthy and lived primarily in the city and their property was safe behind the well defended city walls. The Plebeians, many of whom served in the army, were primarily poor country dwellers. While they were off fighting for Rome their farms and homes …show more content…

As I mentioned above, the Plebeians were able to vote in the general assembly, but not able to vote in the senate or to hold any sort of political office. This gave them little to no say in the politics of the new republic. They were basically subject to the decisions of the Patricians who were proving to be not much better than the kings. The Plebeians decided that revolt was their only recourse and the armies abandoned their generals and marched to the sacred mount in protest. Realizing that they could not defend Rome without the Plebeian army, the Patricians were forced to make several

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