Because aristocratic families in ancient Rome did not want a government dominated by one ruler, they overthrew the king to avoid losing their own power and established the Roman Republic in 509 B.C. In this new government, the idea was that an entire community of people would take part in the government. Though it was to include all citizens, it was dominated by the patricians: the elite, noble and upper class of Rome, with the plebeians (anyone who wasn 't a patrician) bringing up the rear. Structurally, this government consisted of patricians, who would be in the highest seats of the government, such as consuls and senators, and the plebeians, with a lesser say in government matters and banned from holding political office, were members of an assembly, effectively choosing the aforementioned consuls from the senate, leaving most of the benefits from this structure for the patricians.
The patricians, who consisted of the noble and elite of ancient Rome, were able to hold the highest seats in the government. The highest of these were the consuls. Two consuls were chosen annually and administered the government and led the Roman army into battle (The Roman Republic p 117). These consuls were chosen from the senate, a group of 300 elected patricians. The consuls remained in Rome, unless there was an emergency, in which case they would resign and assign a dictator with unlimited power to run the state. Consuls would have had the power to use as much of the public money that they wanted, along with bringing foreign ambassadors to the senate, summon meetings and bring proposals on matters that may require authorization from the people. The consuls had all of the power, with every other tribune under them and following orders.
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...the first formal codification of Roman laws and customs." (The Roman Republic p.119) Eventually, with the publication of these laws, plebians and patricians were able to intermarry and the division between the two groups softened.
While the Roman Republic government was beneficial to all parties involved, it was most beneficial to the upper class and elite patricians. They had the most say in matters, as they held the highest seats in government offices, while the plebeians, at the beginning were forbidden to hold any seat in government. Though they were able to vote their public office officials, they had little say over anything else, until they decided that enough was enough and eventually formed their own assemblies and tribunes, writing their own laws and allowing for intermarriage and eventual plebian placement in the consulship. (The Roman Republic p. 119)
The roman republic constitution was a set of guidelines and principles passed down through precedent, the roman republic instead of creating a democracy such as that the Athenians created, a monarchy which was previously being used by previous roman rulers and an aristocracy which Sparta used, the Constitution combined elements of all three of these governments to create a combined government known as “Senatus populusque que romanus” (S.P.Q.R) this meant “the senate and the roman people”. The Roman magistrates were elected officials during the period of the Roman kingdom, the ‘king’ (although the Romans preferred not to be called a king and instead a rex) of Rome was the principal executive magistrate, his power was absolute similar to that of a tsar
The Roman Republic can be seen as a template for how the United States Government was formed, and still to this day consists of. The First influence that the Romans had on our government was their idea for a republic. They, our country as well, wanted their people to have a vote on who would represent them in government. The U.S. representative type of government was influenced by this. Today we vote for the people representing us in our Senate, House of Representatives, and our President. One of the main influences that the Ancient Romans had on the U.S. Government was the idea of the division of power. Today we have executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The Ancient Romans had a very similar set-up. In Rome when organizing a government, there were many different styles between monarchies, the Senate that was the aristocracy, and the voice of democracy in the people. These acted as their different branches of government. As the U.S Government has an executive branch which consists of our President and Vice President, the Romans had counsels which acted as executive leaders for a year, and controlled the military (“The Roman Republic”). The Ancient Romans also obtained a Senate, similar to our government. In Rome, it was 300 members of the wealthy and self-serving. Today, there are career senators, and elite men in society. This is the legislative branch of our government that has been derived from the Ancient Romans. Also within the legislative branch of the Romans, they had numerous assemblies like that of the U.S. Government’s House of Representatives, based on where each member lives. Our judicial branch was based off of the Roman’s Praeto...
The Roman Republic, was a government, governed by an intricate constitution, which was based on the idea of separation of powers. The Roman Republic, began in 509 B.C, after the end of the Roman Monarchy and lasted for over 450 years. The constitution of the Roman Republic was highly influenced by the struggle of power between the rich families, the patricians, and other Romans who were not from famous or rich families, the plebeians. Their government was divided into three main sections, very much like the Legislative Branch, Executive, Branch, and Judicial Branch. Nowadays, the Senate and assembly resemble the Legislative Branch. In the Roman Republic, the Senate was the most powerful group. The Senate passed all laws and collected taxes. The second part of this branch, was the assembly, and the assembly was elected by the Romans from the plebeian class. The assembly elected consuls, tribunes (representatives from the plebeian class), and made laws. All members of the Senate were part of the patrician class and at the head of the Senate were two consuls. The Consuls controlled the Roman army and in order to become a consul, you had to be elected by a majority of all the citizens in Rome. The consuls, are like our president and the Executive Branch. Although the method of separation of powers came from the Roman Republic, that is not all that came from the Roman Republic that became part of the United States...
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).
Upon reading the excerpt, it could be said that the power of the consul could have possibly been the mightiest of the three. There was the consul, the Senate and the People. Yet, how interesting it is that without the People, the consul and the senate would cease to exist. Just as a house finds it’s stabilization on a foundation build on rock, the consul and senate find their strength standing upon the power of the people of their nation living their ordinary everyday lives. However in the same regard, the Senate needed the People just as much as the People needed the senate. The relationships between these two were very much a give and take and communication was essential. Polybius stated that the People had what seemed like the most important role, for the reason that they themselves were the decision makers of those under the law. They were the jury, the ultimate say. Polybius wrote, “As a result of all of these factors, the Senate fears the masses and is ever mindful of the People.” (Porter, 1995) It is optimistic to say that this type of government, with this type of constitution in place was a rather successful one.
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.
Patricians were the richer people in the world at the time and owned a considerably large amounts of lands. Since they had large amounts of land, which allowed them to gain power, they were deemed patricians, They were the ones who governed the city from the Senate. The Senate was the empire’s governing body during the republic and were voted into office annually by a large group of citizens and also the equites, or men who had property. Equites were people lower in ranking under the patricians (Ancient Roman Politics, Crystalinks). All the social and political power was mostly in the hands of ancient families who are: the Cornelii family, the family of the Caesars, and the Aemilii. The Senate’s power and all other things were lost under the emperors, but the patrician families still held public opinion. The Roman’s sons were sent to be great soldiers so after they became Roman citizens, they were enlisted on their first military campaign. On their return from service in the military, the son of a patrician usually always entered into politics, and sometimes the sons of equites did the same. The young man first stood for election as an aedile, also known as a city councilor. The aediles looked after the corn supply and public amusements. They were basically there just to run the fruitless jobs that were needed. Then the next office that could be achieved was that of the quaestor, also known as the secretary of the
The patricians and the plebians were residents of Rome. They were two different races of people (Rose, 1922, P. 1). The patricians were the aristocracy that generally lived in the city while the plebeians were the normal common people that generally lived in the country. Together they had fought together to over throw the last of the kings in ancient Rome. After the kings were thrown out of Rome the patricians took up the majority of the power. The plebeians were still entitled to vote but they could not sit in any of the offices of power or in the senate. Even though Rome was now calling itself a republic the truth is that it was only a republic for the aristocracy. (Morey, 1901 P. 1). Soon after the kings were over thrown it was obvious
Those elected to leadership were admitted in the Senate where public affairs were discussed. Power divisions during the time were complicated and no single person was entitled to too much power. Tribunes, which comprised of ten men, were put into place in order to monitor the Senate and ensure that the interests of the people were protected. However, this system began to fall apart since certain individuals wanted to have more power than others. Such persons started to compete for that power, and use it to exploit Rome’s politics. Subsequently, competition for power led to civil wars that paved the way to the growth of a one-man leadership. Gradually, dictatorship replaced republic government, and when Augustus rose to power, he became the sole and undisputed leader of Rome.
There is a fundamental difference between a democracy and a republic as it concerned the political entitlement of the citizenry. The citizens of a republic do not participate directly with governmental affairs. The citizens of a republic can however have a say in who does participate. The Roman republic has two prefect systems to prevent dictatorship which didn’t work.
When one thinks of the Roman Republic one cannot help but think of the Roman Senate. The Senate was supposedly created by Romulus who was the mythical first king of Rome who may or may not have existed. (notes) At this point the Senate had very little power and was simply an advisory body of 300 senators. (notes) The senators were referred to as patres (fathers) and made up the patrician class. (notes) In 509 bc the last king of Rome was overthrown by the Senate. The Senate then took responsibility for defending Rome. Created the consuls to replace the kings. (notes) Saw themselves as the true representatives of the Roman people. (notes) Was seen as the representatives of the Roman people until the breakdown of the census. (notes) In 121 the Senate passed the senatus consultum ultitum. which means
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.
The Roman Republic began approximately around 509 B.C. when the nobles drove the King and his family out of Rome. This monumental incident helped shape the start to the transformation of the monarchy into a republican governmental system. This is known to have begun by that of the Roman nobles trying to hold their power that they had gained. The Republic was “[a] city-state [which] was the foundation of Greek society in the Hellenic Age; in the Hellenistic Age, Greek cities became subordinate to kingdoms, larder political units ruled by autocratic monarchs” (Perry 105)
The government of Ancient Rome, the Roman Republic, has influenced American government. The Roman Republic influenced the laws, republican form of government, branches of government, and balance of power. However, the Republic was different from American government. For instance, the Romans had two leaders as consuls of the empire. What was taken from Rome to America, was the idea of a ruling senate that controlled what laws were passed. Consuls had supreme power in both civil and military matters. In the city of Rome, the consuls were the head of the Roman government. They would be the head of the senate and the assemblies. The republic was a large democratic system structured under the rule that no one could hold too much power. Also, people's assemblies were elected by the people to represent the lower classes of Rome. The military was controlled by elected officials. Their terms only lasted for one year! However, it was not a perfect democracy. The Romans did not have a sense of human rights. The city held m...
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...