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Rome’s Government Main Idea: Rome’s republic was shaped by a struggle between wealthy landowners and regular citizens as it gradually expanded the right to vote. There were two main social classes in early Rome: patrician and plebeian. Patricians were wealthy landowners. They were nobles who held government offices. However, most people were plebeians – shopkeepers, artisans, and small farmers. Patricians and plebeians could not marry each other. All patrician and plebeian men were citizens and had the right to vote. They had to pay taxes and join the army. But only patricians could be in the government. How Did Rome’s Government Work? The top government posts were the consuls, who served for one year. Two consuls were chosen every ear. One consul headed the army. The other headed the rest of the government. If one consul made a bad decision, the other could veto it. This means they could reject the other’s decision. The government of the Rome Republic also included praetors, or judges, tax collectors, and builders. Rome had two major lawmaking groups. They were the Senate and the Assembly of Centuries. The 200 Senators served for life. At first, they only advised the consuls. By the 200s B.C., they passed laws and set building programs. The Assembly of Centuries elected the consuls and praetors. Plebeians Against Patricians At first, only patrician men could be Senators, Assembly members, or consuls. But the plebeians fought in the army and paid taxes, just like the patricians. They wanted equal rights. So, in 494 B.C., the plebeians went on strike. They would not join the army. Many left Rome, and set up their own republic. This scared the patricians. In 474 B.C., the plebeians set up the Council of Plebs and elected tribunes. The tribunes told the government what the plebeians thought about issues. Later, the tribunes could veto government decisions. By 455 B.C. patricians and plebeians could marry each other, and in the 300s B.C., plebeian men could become consuls. In 287 B.C., the Council of Plebs could pass laws for all Romans. However, a few wealthy families still held most of the power. Who Was Cincinnatus? The Roman Republic included dictators. Today, a dictator is a cruel ruler who controls everything. In early Rome, the dictators were elected by the Senate when there was an emergency. As soon as the emergency ended, the dictator quit. About 460 B.C., the Roman army was attacked. The Senators elected a farmer named Cincinnatus to be dictator. Cincinnatus gathered an army to help Rome. He and his army defeated the enemy quickly. Afterward, he went home to his farm. Roman Law The U.S. legal system copied a lot of Rome’s system of law. At first, Rome’s laws were not written down. Plebeians thought that the judges agreed with the rich people too often. The plebeians demanded that the laws be written down. That way everyone could know them. That way everyone could make sure the judges followed the laws. In 451 B.C., the first code of laws was written down. It was carved on bronze tablets. The bronze tablets were put in the Forum. The Forum was Rome’s big marketplace. The laws were called the Twelve Tables. They set-­‐up the idea that all citizens should be treated equally by the law. All future Roman laws were based on the Twelve Tables. The Twelve Tables were only for Roman citizens. That made problems when Rome began taking over other nations. The Romans saw that they also needed laws to protect people who were not citizens. They made a new set of laws called the Law of Nations. It listed ideas of justice. These ideas of justice were for everyone. We still use some of these ideas today. For example, the Law of Nations said that people are seen as innocent until they are proven guilty. The Law of Nations said that judges had to study evidence before making decisions. The Romans’ main idea was that the law should treat everyone equally. This is called “the rule of law.” In early Rome, this was a very new idea. Many rich people did not like it. They were used to having special privileges. In fact, many rich people were not used to obeying the law at all. The rule of law made the rich respect the rights of the poor. The rule of law is the basis for our legal system today. Before 471 B.C., what rights did patricians have that plebeians did not? __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________
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