Download World Chapter 2

Unit: Fall of the Roman Empire
Lesson Title:
Roman Law and Government
(see pages 24-26 in textbook)
Who needs government and laws?
What would happen if the government in our
country disappeared?
What if we erased all our written laws?
(Hint: What would our school be like if we got rid of our principal
and assistant principal and the office staff and all of our school
rules?)
Key Facts
From the 600s BCE (BC) to the 100s CE
(AD) Rome grew from a city monarchy (a
kingdom led by kings), to a republic (led by
elected officials), and then to an empire (led
by dictators) with millions of people.
Early Rome was led by kings. But after
only 7 kings, the Romans took power over
their own city and ruled themselves by
forming a republic.
There were 3 main classes of people
in the Roman Republic. They were treated
differently when it came to the law and
government.
1. Patricians—nobles or very wealthy citizens.
2. Plebeians—free citizens but not very wealthy.
3. Slaves—non-citizens owned by other people.
The Patricians were rich people who had the
most power in Roman government.
Do you think rich people
in our country have more
power than other people?
Some people had no power at all.
Slaves were owned by
other people.
Women could be free
citizens, but they had no
say in government.
The Romans became very dependant upon their
slaves to get work done. Look at how the
number of slaves grew in Rome over time!
YEAR
ROMAN CITIZENS SLAVE POPULATION
115 BC
70 BC
27 BC
394,336
900,000
4,063,000
131,445
300,000
1,354,333
AD 13
AD 47
4,937,000,
6,944,000
1,645,667
2,314,667
But SLAVERY was not decent, or good for ROME.
Slaves sometimes fought back.
SPARTACUS led a slave rebellion, showing
Romans how important freedom is to all people.
Roman Law
The Roman Republic wrote its laws down.
They were first written on bronze tablets
called the
Twelve Tables.
The laws on the Twelve Tables were
displayed in the Forum (Rome’s public
meeting place) so all could read them.
Why would it be important to
write laws down?
The United States also
writes its laws down.
Our most important set of laws is called the
Constitution. It was first written in 1787.
The United States
Constitution
The Constitution sets up the organization
and main rules of our government. It also
lists the rights of our citizens. Over more
than 200 years we have amended (made
changes) to our Constitution only 28
times.
The Government of the Roman Republic
had 3 main parts:
Assembly-included all of the Plebian citizens of
Rome. They could suggest and vote on laws,
but the Senate could block their decisions.
Senate-a group of Patricians citizens that
approved the laws. Senators were chosen by the
2 Consuls.
2 Consuls –co-leaders of the government who
carried out the laws. The 2 Consuls were elected
by the Assembly from among the members of
the Senate. The Consuls were like our president,
but would only serve 1 year.
The Consuls shared power and had
to agree on decisions.
If they disagreed, they used a
VETO - meaning “I Forbid”.
The Roman Republic had “Checks and Balances”
= spreading power into its 3 parts of government.
The Consuls had much power, but it was limited by
the Senate. And the Consuls were elected by the
Assembly.
America got its ideas of “Checks and Balances” from the
Roman Republic – We call it the 3 Branches
of Government
1. The Executive Branch – The President
2. The
Legislative
Branch- The
lawmakers-
3. The Judicial BranchThe Supreme Court Judges
A closer look at the governments of
the Roman Republic and the U.S.
The checks and balances of power
In Class Exercise – Part 1
Checks and balances of the Roman Republic
1. Read the Government under the Roman Republic
handout.
Mark each power of the Senate with a square
Mark each power of the Assembly with a circle
Mark each power of the Consuls with a triangle
2. As a class, let’s make a table with 3 columns that lists
the powers of the Senate, Assembly and Consuls.
Senate
Assembly
Consuls
Three Branches
Place the following qualifications or powers into
three categories: Assembly, Senate or Consul:
 Elects the consul
 Controls the army
 The law makers
 Controls spending
 Elected by the Assembly
 Chooses Senators
 Serves for life
 Could block Assembly decisions
In Class Exercise – Part 2
Checks and balances of the United States
1. Read The Balance of Government: Our Government’s
Seesaw handout.
2. Complete the Checks and Balances Worksheet for the
Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches of the U S.
Government.