Download The Roman World notes

Do-now
• What type of government do we have in
the U.S.?
The Roman World
The Roman city-state
The Roman city-state
• Expanded easily due
to geography (land,
people, resources)
– Mountain range
(Apennine Mts.) are
less rugged than
Greece
– Fertile plains
Ancient Romans
• The ancestors of the
Romans were the
Latins
– The Latin language is
the basis of many of
the European
languages today.
The Etruscans
The Etruscans
• Ruled over the Roman City-State
• Cultural Diffusion
– Romans assimilate the basic Greek alphabet,
architecture and various deities into their
culture
The Roman Revolution!
• In 509 BC (before Caesar's calendar) the
Romans rebel against the Etruscans and gain
independence.
• In 1776 the Americans will rebel against the
British and gain independence
Developing a government
• The Romans developed a government
where they chose their leaders
– The birth of the Republic- system of
government where officials are chosen by the
people
– The United States is a Republic
Roman social classes
• Patricians – upper class citizens
– Large Landholders
• Plebeians – lower class citizens
– Farmers, merchants, artisans and traders
The Republic
• The Romans elected 300 Patricians to
create a governing body called the Senate
– Only Patricians could be elected to the
Senate
– Senators were elected for life
– The United States has a governing body in
the Congress that is called the Senate
• There are 100 Senators (2 per state)
Consuls
• The Senators elected 2 Patricians to be
consuls
• New Consuls would be chosen each year
To make sure that no one individual gained
too much power thus creating a system of
checks and balances
The United States uses checks and balances
between our three branches of government
The Two Consuls
• One consul would supervise the business of
the government
• The other consul would supervise the armies
of Rome
War!
• In the event of war all the power of Rome
was entrusted into the hands of one man
• Why?
– One person can make quick decisions and
speed up the movements of armies and
government policies and the creation of laws
– The United States elects a President to do this
• Dictator – a ruler who has complete control
over a government
Dictator
• Only had complete power for 6 months
– Fear too much power in the hands of one man
•Cincinnatus – was
made dictator, organized
and led the army in
victory and returned
home and gave up power
in only 16 days
The Twelve Tables
• Plebeians were often ignorant of the laws the
Patrician dominated Senate created. (no CNN
or Fox News back then)
• The Senate had Twelve Tables erected in the
Forum (central marketplace) that had all the
laws of Rome inscribed in them
The Tribunes
• The lower class Romans were often
overlooked by laws created by the
Patrician dominated Senate
• The Plebeians elected their own officials to
watch over the Senate
– They were not part of the Senate just
observers
The Veto
• The Tribunes could not make laws in the
Senate but could stop any law the Senate
creates
– Gives political power to the Plebeians
– Today the United States President can veto
any law the Congress passes
The Legacy of Government
• The United States as
well as other nations
around the world will
base their
governments on the
ideas originally
developed in Rome
over 2,000 years ago!
– The Senate, veto,
checks and balances