Download Rome : Government and Society

Rome : Government and Society
What You Should Have Learned from the Reading
Remember….
• Rome was ruled by Patricians,
who were the wealthy, noble,
minority.
• A group of people known as
Plebeians made up the
majority of society but had no
say in the way the
government was run. As you
can imagine, they weren’t too
happy!
• The Patricians were smart
enough to realize that they had
to make the Plebeians happy to
avoid a revolt, so they made a
few changes to their republic.
Our government is also a tripartite!
The Romans
developed a
tripartite, or a
government
with three
parts, or
branches.
The Roman Tripartite : Magistrates
•
The Roman tripartite was still
considered a Republic because
officials were elected.
• The first part, or branch, of the
tripartite was made up of
magistrates.
• The two most powerful
magistrates were called consuls.
• Other magistrates were elected
for jobs like organizing games,
festivals for the gods, and for
deciding whether or not
criminals were guilty or innocent.
The Roman Republic : The Senate
• The Roman Senate was made
up of wealthy, powerful Romans
who had the job of advising
consuls.
• Senators served for life and
were often former magistrates
(ex-magistrates).
• Eventually the Senate gained
control of Rome’s finances and
had great influence in the
government.
The Roman Republic : Assemblies and
Tribunes
• These two branches
protected the plebeians.
• Assemblies elected
magistrates.
• Tribunes were elected
by Plebeians and had
veto power, which
meant they could
prohibit, or forbid
actions of other
government officials.
Checks and Balances
• Another way Roman
leaders’ powers were
limited was because
of Checks and
Balances.
• Basically, if one branch
had an idea for Rome,
they had to clear it with
the other branches first.
Our Government Uses a Checks and Balances System as Well!
Get It? No? Oh, Well Here’s a
Brainpop
https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/branchesofgovernment/
Law of the Twelve Tables
• Every successful
government has a
system of laws.
Eventually, however, Romans decided to
write them down and hang them in the
Forum, or their public meeting place.
• Originally Rome’s
laws weren’t written
down anywhere, so
people often did not
know they were
breaking the law.
Law of the Twelve Tables : For Example
The Roman Forum
The Temple of Jupiter
In the Roman
Forum there were
important
government
buildings and
temples.
The Forum,
which means
public place,
was usually
packed with
people!
The Roman Forum Today