Download the gracchus brothers

The
Roman
Republic
THE GRACCHUS BROTHERS
Elizabeth Hagele
Period 1 Barrett
The Roman Republic
INTERVIEW WITH THE GRACCHUS BROTHERS
When reading this article, you will find the differences between the two Gracchus
brothers and how they attempted reform. I was lucky enough to find out information
from the brothers themselves, but sadly they passed away. This is an overview of their
tactics in order to try to achieve reform.
The two brothers come from a very successful family. The two brother’s father
was a very famous politician who served the Roman Republic as both censor and
consul. I asked Tiberius and Gaius since their father had such an important position, if
this meant they needed to have one. They agreed, and believed that they needed to
show their place. The education of the two boys was marked by the Greek influence.
The two boys were taught Greek philosophy. I asked Tiberius what he greatly valued in
his education. He replied how he learned about the well-versed democracy and reform.
Gaius also became very well known with this subject. Both brothers before performing
any other task, both attended military service.
Some of the problems the early republic faced was The Third Punic War. In the
third and final Punic War, Rome wanted to completely destroy Carthage. The people
were planning to attack the entire town of Carthage and burn it to the ground. The
Romans didn’t want any survivors. This was a problem to the Roman Republic because
it was possible for anyone’s live to be lost in war.
2|Page
Tiberius also mentioned how he served as a quaestor in the Numatine War. “During this
war, I saved the Roman army by signing a peace treaty with Rome’s foes, causing an
alliance. This was important, because it maintained a relationship with Scipio and the
Senate.
Also, Tiberius wanted to take large tracts of land from the wealthy and giving
them to the poor. Tiberius argued that the soldiers and their families were homeless and
deserved to share in the increased Roman wealth. People believed that the agricultural
commission redistributed public lands to peasants and military soldiers. The wealthy did
not believe that people should be taking over their land the wealthy landowners
opposed the bill and persuaded tribune, Marcus Octavius to veto it. The bill was denied.
The land reform law was passed, though the senate resisted providing its
expenses.Tiberius was killed from a riot attack from his opponents from the Roman
Senate.
After Tiberius’s death, Gaius continued to attempt to redistribute the land. Gaius
initiated employment opportunities by road building, and offered food at reasonable
prices. Gaius was the type of guy who really cared about the less fortunate. He would
do anything to help them.
The relationship between the Gracchus brothers is good with farmers because of
the reform but bad with the rich people and senators. The significance to death of the
Gracchus brothers shows people the importance of decision. One must make decisions
that benefit all people so that your reform won’t be declined. In conclusion, the
Gracchus brothers changed history and were a main topic of the Roman Republic.
3|Page