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Abstract
“The Conflict of the Orders, also referred to as the Struggle of the Orders, was a political struggle between the Plebeians (commoners) and Patricians (aristocrats) of the ancient Roman Republic lasting from 494 BC to 287 BC, in which the Plebeians sought political equality with the Patricians. It played a major role in the development of the Constitution of the Roman Republic. Shortly after the founding of the Republic, this conflict led to a secession from Rome by Plebeians to the Sacred Mount at a time of war. The result of this first secession was the creation of the office of Plebeian Tribune, and with it the first acquisition of real power by the Plebeians.
At first only Patricians were allowed to stand for election to political
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I would like to discuss how, in at least three ways, the economic and political differences between the patricians and the plebeian classes ultimately led to a plebeian revolt. The first succession was due to these 3 factors. (B.C. 494) 1. Poverty & Distress of the Plebeians due to previous wars left the Plebeians in a state of poverty. 2. The Unjust Law of Debt put the Plebeians in a place where they had to borrow money from the rich Patricians putting them in the debtor class. If they could not pay their debt, they were arrested and made a slave of the creditor. 3. The Unequal Division of the Public Land which was public land which had been gained in a war. The land was supposed to belong to all the people and could have been used in helping the poor get out of debt. However the government was in the hands of the Patricians which secured the land for themselves. This was what caused the Plebeians to revolt and leave the Patricians to fight their own battles in the first succession. The Patricians realized right away that this would be the destruction of Rome. They made a decree to forgive all debts to those who were insolvent and release all who had been imprisoned. In addition they did the following: (Morey, THE STRUGGLE FOR ECONOMIC RIGHTS, 2014) 1. The Tribunes of the People were given to protect the plebeians from …show more content…
Unlike the patricians, the lower or plebeian class may have suffered under the early republican structure more than they had under monarchy, since they now had, in effect, many rulers. Under the monarchy, they had endured just one. A similar situation in ancient Greece sometimes led the lower classes to welcome tyrants. In Athens, the political movement against a hydra-headed governing body led to codification of laws and then democracy.
In addition to the many headed hydra breathing down their necks, the plebeians lost access to what had been regal domain and was now the public land or ager publics, because the patricians who were in power, took control of it to increase their profits, running it by slaves or clients in the country while they and their families lived in the city.
After the plebeian aedileship had been created, the patricians created the cruel aedileship. After the consulship had been opened to the plebeians, the plebeians were able to hold both the dictatorship and the censorship. Plebiscites of 342 BC placed limits on political offices; an individual could hold only one office at a time, and ten years must elapse between the end of his official term and his re-election. Further laws attempted to relieve the burden of debt from plebeians by banning interest on loans. In 337 BC, the first plebeian praetor was
... them to acknowledge what little rights they possessed as a whole (Booms, et al., 2013). The reforms made by Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus had a long lasting effect on the Roman Republic as the reforms targeted areas that were formerly forgotten and this resulted in a build-up of tension between the plebeians and the government that would eventually contribute to its downfall.
Rome's Republican era began after the overthrow of the last Roman King Tarquin Superbus by Lucius Brutus in 509 BC(1), the Senate was ruled the by the people of Rome. The Roman Republic was governed by a largely complex constitution, which established many checks and balances, so no man could have complete control. The evolution of the constitution was heavily influenced by the struggle between the patricians and the other prominent Romans who were not from the nobility. Early in Rome’s history, the patricians controlled the republic, over time, the laws that allowed these individuals to dominate the government were repealed, and the result was the emergence of a the republic which depended on the structure of society, rather than the law, to maintain its dominance. This is similar to the creation of the American system of government. Starting with the over throw of t...
The fall of the Western Roman Empire was the first example in history on the collapse of a constitutional system which was caused by the internal decay in political, military, economics, and sociological issues. The government was becoming corrupt with bribery. Commanders of the Roman army turned their own army inward towards their own Constitutional systems, fueled by their own ruthless ambition. This paper will talk about how the violence and internal turmoil in 133B.C.-27 B.C. was what provoked the economic stagnation in the city of Rome and to the end of the Republic and the many corrupt politicians and generals who only thought of nothing more than personal gains and glory. The senate lost control of the Roman military and the reason they rose against the senate was because the senate were no longer able to help manage the social problems or the military and administrative problems of the empire. The economics of the Roman Empire soon hit rock bottom due to the high taxation to support the army. Gold was also eroding since Rome was no longer bringing new resources through the expansion. Emperors then tried to mint coins out of silver and copper instead and the end result was inflation and dramatic rises in
The Roman Republic can be explained as the period from 509 – 27 BCE, which the ancient Roman civilization exemplified a republican form of government; where the supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives. During the Roman Republic, the 2 most powerful, and main branches of government included the Consuls and the Senate. It was the Consuls who held supreme civil and military control over Rome; however the republic had precautions in place to avoid one of the consuls from exercising too much power, such as short one year terms, veto and the notion of 2 consuls to divide authority. The republic then also included the senate; where at first, senators were only chosen from the patrician class, but in time, plebeians joined their positions (Bradley, 1990). Throughout the history of the republic, the evolution of government was driven by the struggle between the aristocracy and the ordinary citizens. The demise of the republic resulted through a series of civil wars and powerful dominance of significant historical figures (Princeton.edu, 2014).
After Rome established itself, they were determined to never again be ruled by a monarch. The Roman setup a new government called a republic. Romans thought a republic would keep any individuals from gaining too much power. Later Romans looked back with enormous pride on the achievements of the early republic. Between 509 B.C. and 133 B.C., Rome adapted the government to fit the need of the people it served. It also developed the military power to not only conqueror not only Italy, but also the entire Mediterranean world. In the early republic power was controlled by the patricians, the land holding upper class. Senators, who served for life, interpreted laws and issued decrees. In the event of a war the senate might elect a dictator who ruled for only six months in time of emergency.
From this paper you can see some of the economic and political differences between the patricians and the plebeian classes that ultimately led to a plebeian revolt. You can see how the patricians abused the power to always give them an unfair advantage over the plebeian people. The truth is that the first government after the kings were banished should not be called a republican government but more of an Oligarchy government.
Between the years 509-27 BCE, Rome was considered a republic, which is a type of government in which people vote for representatives to make laws. People were classified as either patricians, plebeians, or slaves within the republic. The patricians were people of the upper class; the ones with all the money. Plebeians were usually farmers, merchants, artisans, or traders and slaves were usually prisoners from the war. During the early Rome expansion, the government was composed of two consuls, the senate, and a dictator when needed. The consuls were responsible for supervising the government and commanding armies. In addition, the senate consisted of three hundred patricians that voted on laws. Lastly, if necessary, a dictator would step in at a time of war, and carry out decisions when there was not enough time to discuss other options within the government . Based on the mentioned information, many people argue about how democratic the Roman Republic really was. The Roman Republic was primarily democratic, however, there were some aspects that could label it as an aristocracy.
During the time period of ancient Rome, the structure of government and political culture was developed and has helped us base our own government and political ideas to the ones that we use today. Ancient Rome had three periods’ in their government those where the Republican period, Imperial period, and Monarchy period. Each period helped Rome build their government and structure their society in a specific way throughout their early years. The Romans were a direct democracy, meaning everyone (who is eligible) is able to vote, on who is put in charge. The Republican period was the most influential period in their history on modern society. During the Republican period every male citizen enjoyed the privilege of voting (1) on the legislation, (2) on the election of government officials. (Shelton 1988) Although it was a direct democracy at the time it was definitely more of an aristocracy than a democracy due to senators who were part of Rome’s upper-class, who controlled the nature of legislation that reached the assemblies. (Shelton 1988). People were put into three assemblies: the Comitia Centuriata, the Comitia Tributa, and the Concilium Plebis. Voters were divided into voting units called centuries; divisions that were made according to property value and age; so that the wealthiest people at a certain age were grouped together. (Shelton 1988) But, mostly all decisions were made by the wealthiest group of older people given their power over the community.
...wealthy and had no political power in the early Roman Empire. They started out with no rights but as time went by a struggle emerged for plebian rights and eventually they earned their equality by rights of the law after years of political fighting. The most important political institution that was created during this time was the Senate who created a sense of stability in Rome and offered advice to the console of Rome. It helped Rome keep order in the land and aided in the governing of the people.
In the process of expanding and before becoming the Roman Empire, the Roman Republic fought many wars with neighboring groups, such as the Carthaginians, the Gauls, and a few others. Under those circumstances, some groups declared war on Rome to check its expanding power, but failed to do so. Some of the defeated opponents became allies of Rome (later, integrated into Rome and turned into municipia), while enslavement befell the rest. Consequently, Rome’s expansion and enslavement of others steered it into greater external and internal conflicts (which, led to the Roman Republic and to the rise of the Roman Empire). In fact, the enslavement of the conquered people further broadened the internal conflict between the patricians and the plebeians.
Like the various forms of Greek art, the government of ancient Greece appreciated the individual by creating an environment in which individuals were free to express themselves. Tyrants like Pisistratus and Cleisthenes came to power to try and make the polis a better place for the individual. These tyrants reformed the state in many ways; they helped make it possible for the rich and poor to have equal rights, and they created the conditions for the construction of the splendid monumental buildings ancient Greece is remembered for today. Although not all tyrants were good, they all had one thing in common: they were all citizens of Greece, and ruled to improve the lifestyle of the citizens of Greece. After the end of tyranny, Greece had a democracy; a government ruled by the people for the people.
The Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC after the ruling Tarquins abused their extensive power as monarchs and were overthrown. The goal of the Roman Republic was to have a strong government, governed equally by the patricians and the plebians, and to avoid another Roman Monarchy. For years Rome was guided by great men, such as Cincinnatus and Scipio Africanus, who led the Republic through hard times, conquering such enemies as the Etruscans and the Carthaginians. Large-scale war united Roman society in its common goals. However, after Scipio’s victory at Zama in 202 BC, a new Roman world began to take shape. Roman soldiers returned home from their victory to find that they could not pay for their farms, becoming “squatters” on their own lands after having to sell them to richer men. The Senate became corrupted, and despite the Gracchi brothers’ best efforts, the rich patricians soon monopolized nearly all aspects of the Republic, from trading and “farming” to governing the people. After marching on Rome, Sulla became dictator in 82 BC. After Sulla, the First Triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, owned virtually all power in Rome, yet each had his own desire to defeat the other two and become Emperor. When Crassus died in battle, Caesar had his chance. He defeated Pompey and marched on Rome, victorious. After declaring himself Dictator for Life, Caesar was assassinated, and another Civ...
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.
The rivalry between the patricians and plebeians in ancient Rome was mainly economical. The patricians were the higher class of society who controlled wealth. They were the minority. The majority were the commoners or plebeians. The plebeians played a key important role in ancient Roman society as they were the backbone of the roman territory and defending it was a task they were looked up to. The peace and security of Rome means the Plebeians must be willing to fight in the army. And for them to be able to fight, the class discrimination they faced which was mainly based on economic differentiation must not be translated into political differentiation. The plebeians did indeed face political discrimination as a result of their social class based on wealth. The political discrimination saw Rome through many upheavals and challenge by the plebeians to the status quo in a bid to impose change and better their political voice and economic situation. The unity of both classes of ancient Rome-namely the Patricians and Plebeians- in getting rid of monarchy did not translate to unity after the mission was successful. The Patricians were at advantage as they got better political and economic gains in ancient Rome.
The Plebeians were more of the poor group of Romans and poorer Romans, however, could only dream of such a life. Sweating it out in the city, they lived in shabby, dirty houses that could collapse or burn at any moment. If times were hard, they might abandon newborn babies to the streets, hoping that someone else would take them in as a servant or slave. Poor in wealth but strong in numbers, they were the Roman mob, who relaxed in front of the popular entertainment of the time, the chariot races between opposing teams, or gladiators fighting for their life, fame and fortune.