Transcript The Roman Republic

The
Roman
Republic
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 for leaders.
ROME’S GOVERNMENT
 Do you know where the word Republic comes from?
 Its made up of two Latin words meaning “Thing of the
People”…now lets see how the Romans created their Republic.
ROME’S GOVERNMENT
 Early Romans were divided into two classes:
 Patricians (Pa-Tri-Cian) and Plebeians ( Ple-Be-ians).
ROME’S GOVERNMENT
 Patricians were wealthy landowners.
 These nobles made up most of Rome’s ruling class or people that
were in charge of the country.
ROME’S GOVERNMENT
 Most of Rome’s people, however, were called Plebeians.
 This group of people included artisans, shopkeepers and owners
of small farms…everyday average people.
ROME’S GOVERNMENT
 Both Patrician’s and Plebeian men were considered Roman Citizens…they had
the right to vote and a responsibility to pay taxes and ser ve in the militar y.
 The Plebeian’s however had less social status and were looked down on by the
Patrician’s
ROME’S GOVERNMENT
 Marriage between member s of the two social classes were forbidden.
 Plebeians also lacked an impor tant political right…they could not hold public
of fice…they could not be involved in politics…do you think this matters?
ROME’S GOVERNMENT
 Questions:
 1) Who were the Patricians?
 2) Who were the Plebeians?
ROME’S GOVERNMENT
 Questions:
 1) Who were the Patricians?
 Wealthy landowners in Rome…could run for political of fice
 2) Who were the Plebeians?
 Artisans, shopkeepers and farmers…could not run for political
of fice
HOW DID ROME’S GOVERNMENT WORK?
 Rome had a Tripartite (Tri-Part-itr), which is basically a three part
government…
 One group of people ran the government, another group made the
laws and a third group acted as judges.
HOW DID ROME’S GOVERNMENT WORK?
 It had checks and balances so that one group could not become too
strong…sounds familiar right.
HOW DID ROME’S GOVERNMENT WORK?
 In the Roman Republic, the top government of ficials were the
consuls…they headed the Army and ran the Government
 Consul – One of the two top government of ficials in Rome.
HOW DID ROME’S GOVERNMENT WORK?
 Consuls served very short terms in office, that way there was little
risk that they would abuse their powers.
 The Consuls also kept each other in line because they could Veto or
reject each others decisions.
HOW DID ROME’S GOVERNMENT WORK?
 Rome had other impor tant of ficials called Praetors.
 Praetors – Main job was to interpret the law and act as judges in cour t.
HOW DID ROME’S GOVERNMENT WORK?
 Various other of ficials preformed specialized duties such as keeping tax
records, handling public finances, super vising public festivals and so for th.
HOW DID ROME’S GOVERNMENT WORK?
 Rome’s most important legislative (Law making body) was known
as the Senate.
 This was a select group of 300 patrician men who served in the
Roman Government for their entire life's.
HOW DID ROME’S GOVERNMENT WORK?
 In the beginning, the Senate only gave advice to the
Consuls…however over time, the power of the Senate grew.
 By the 200 B.C.E., the Senate could propose laws, hold debates and
approve building programs.
HOW DID ROME’S GOVERNMENT WORK?
 The Curia Julia in the Roman Forum, the seat of the imperial Senate.
HOW DID ROME’S GOVERNMENT WORK?
 Another important law making body was the Assembly of Centuries .
 The Assembly of Centuries elected Consuls, Praetors and passed
laws…it was under control of the wealthy Patricians…
HOW DID ROME’S GOVERNMENT WORK?
 Questions:
 1) How many parts did Rome’s government have and what is the
name for it?
 2) What was the Consul and what was their job?
 3) What does the term “Veto” mean?
 4) Who are the Praetors and what do they do?
HOW DID ROME’S GOVERNMENT WORK?
 Questions:
 1) How many par ts did Rome’s government have and what is the name for
it?
 T hree par ts, Tripar tite
 2) What was the Consul and what was their job?
 Top g overnment Of ficials, Head of t he A rmy and Ran the Government
 3) What does the term “ Veto” mean?
 To Reject
 4) Who are the Praetors and what do they do?
 Interpret t he law and act as judges
PLEBEIANS AGAINST PATRICIANS
 As you might expect, Plebeians complained about having so little power in
the Roman Republic.
 Af ter all, they fought along side the rich Patricians in the army and their tax
payments helped the Republic thrive.
PLEBEIANS AGAINST PATRICIANS
 Eventually, the Plebeians took action to bring about change…in 494 B.C.E. many
Plebeians went on strike.
 They refused to ser ve in the army and lef t the city to set up their own
Republic…these moves frightened the Patricians into agreeing to share more
power equally.
PLEBEIANS AGAINST PATRICIANS
 In 471 B.C.E. the Plebeians were allowed to set up their own body
of representatives called the Council of Plebs .
 This assembly elected Tribunes who brought Plebeian concerns to
the government attention.
PLEBEIANS AGAINST PATRICIANS
 The Tribunes also won the right to veto government decisions that
were harmful to their people.
 In 455 B.C.E. Plebeians and Patricians were allowed to marry and
in 300 B.C.E. Plebeians were allowed to become Consuls.
PLEBEIANS AGAINST PATRICIANS
 The most far reaching political reform came in 287 B.C.E. were the
Council of Plebs finally gained the power to pass laws for all Romans.
 Now all male citizens had equal political standings…at least in theor y…a
few wealthy Patrician families still held most power and women remained
without a voice in government.
PLEBEIANS AGAINST PATRICIANS
 The Roman Republic had become more representative, but was far
from a full fledged democracy.
PLEBEIANS AGAINST PATRICIANS
 Questions:
 1) Why were the Plebeians angry with the Patricians?
 2) What was the Council of Plebs?
PLEBEIANS AGAINST PATRICIANS
 Questions:
 1) Why were the Plebeians angry with the Patricians?
 The Plebeians had less power in the government then the
Patricians
 2) What was the Council of Plebs?
Tribunes who brought Plebeian concerns to the governments
attention.
WHO WAS CINCINNATUS?
 An unusual feature of the Roman Republic was the of fice of the Dictator.
 We define a dictator today as am oppressive ruler with complete control
over the state.
WHO WAS CINCINNATUS?
 Roman dictators also had complete control, but they ser ved the people
and ruled on a temporar y basis during emergencies.
 The Senate appointed a dictator in times of great danger…as soon as the
emergency had passed the Roman dictators gave up their power.
WHO WAS CINCINNATUS?
 The best known dictator is Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus.
 About 460 B.C.E. a powerful enemy had surrounded a Roman
army…of ficials decided that the crisis called for a dictator and that
Cincinnatus was the man for the job.
WHO WAS CINCINNATUS?
 When the crisis occurred Cincinnatus was found plowing his farm fields…
as a loyal and devoted citizen he lef t his farm and gathered an army.
 He defeated the enemy in a shor t battle and returned to Rome in triumph.
WHO WAS CINCINNATUS?
 Although he probably could have continued ruling, Cincinnatus did not
want the power over Rome.
 Having done his duty to the Republic he returned to his farm a mere
sixteen days later.
WHO WAS CINCINNATUS?
 Romans strongly believed in civic duty, or the idea that citizens
have a responsibility to help their country.
 What are some of your civic duties as an American Citizen?
WHO WAS CINCINNATUS?
 What should you do as a good citizen…
WHO WAS CINCINNATUS?
 Cincinnatus was widely admired in his own time and throughout
histor y…George Washington for one took inspiration from his example.
WHO WAS CINCINNATUS?
 Like Cincinnatus, Washington was a farmer and when asked to head the
Continental Army during the American Revolution.
 Af ter leading the Americans to victor y, Washington returned to his
plantation and home…only later with great reluctance did he agree to
become the fir st President of the United States.
WHO WAS CINCINNATUS?
 The stor y of Cincinnatus was impor tant to the ancient Romans for several
reasons…he was victorious in battle and yet quickly gave up his dictator ship.
 Perhaps more impor tant, he did his civic duty by responding to a call to ser ve.
WHO WAS CINCINNATUS?
 Questions:
 1) What is a Roman Dictator?
 2) What is the dif ference between a Roman Dictator and what
we today consider a Dictator?
 3) Who was Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus?
WHO WAS CINCINNATUS?
 Questions:
 1) What is a Roman Dictator?
 Rulers that had complete control for a short period of time
 2) What is the difference between a Roman Dictator and what we
today consider a Dictator?
 Todays Dictators have complete control are violent and do not give
up their power.
 3) Who was Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus?
 A roman Dictator who ser ved Rome and gave back power
ROMAN LAW
 One of Rome’s chief gif ts to the world was its system of law.
 The legal system of the United States owes much to the Roman system.
ROMAN LAW
 Ro m e ’ s f i r s t c o d e o f l aw s w a s t h e Tw e l ve Ta b l e s , t h a t w e r e c r e a te d i n 4 51 B . C . E .
 T h e Tw e l v e Ta b l e s w e r e l aw s w r i t te n o n t a b l et s t h a t d e s c r i b e d t h e r i g h t s o f e a c h p e r s o n i n
t h e Ro m a n Re p u b l ic .
ROMAN LAW
 T h e l aw s w e r e t h e f i r s t s et o f r u l e s to g o v e r n Ro m e .
 Wr i t i n g t h e l aw s d o w n a n d p u t t i n g t h e m i n p u b l ic d i s p l ay e n s u r e d t h a t ev e r yo n e k n ew t h e
l aw s a n d t h a t j u d g e s d i d n o t a p p l y t h e l aw s d i f fe r e n t ly to d i f fe r e n t p e o p l e .
ROMAN LAW
 The laws on the Twelve Tables explained a per son's rights concerning proper ty,
wills, public behavior, family law and cour t actions.
 These laws were the fir st step towards equal rights for citizens of all classes in
Ancient Rome and even in today’s society.
ROMAN LAW
 Mr. Iannucci Top Ten Messed Up Roman Laws :
 "A dreadfully deformed child shall be killed .“
 "If a father surrender his son for sale three times, the son shall be
free.“
 Marriage by usage: If a man and woman live together continuously
for a year, they are considered to be married; the woman legally is
treated as the man's daughter.
 "If any person has sung or composed against another person a
song such as was causing slander or insult.... he shall be clubbed
to death.“
 "If a person has maimed another's limb, let there be retaliation in
kind, unless he agrees to make compensation with him."
ROMAN LAW
 "Whoever is convicted of speaking false witness shall be flung
from the Tarpeian Rock.“
 "No person shall hold meetings in the City at night .“
 "Putting to death... of any man who has not been convicted,
whosoever he might be, is forbidden .“
 "Women must not tear cheeks or hold chorus of `Alas!' on
account of a funeral.“
 "There are eight kinds of punishment: fine, fetters, flogging,
retaliation in kind, civil disgrace, banishment, slavery, death."
ROMAN LAW
 The Laws were car ved on bronze tablets that were placed in Rome’s M arketplace
or in the Forum .
 The Twelve Tables became the basis for all future Roman laws…they established
the principle that all free citizens had the right to be treated equally.
ROMAN LAW
 The Twelve Tables, however, applied only to Roman Citizens.
 As the Romans took over more lands, they realized that new rules were
needed to solve legal disputes between citizens and non -citizens.
ROMAN LAW
 They created a collection of laws called the Law of Nations .
 It states principles of justice that applied to people ever ywhere.
ROMAN LAW
 These standards of justice included ideas that we still accept today…
 “A per son is innocent until proven guilty ” “ People accused of crimes
could defend themselves in front of a judge ” “A judge had to look at
evidence carefully before making a decision ”.
ROMAN LAW
 The idea that the law should apply to ever yone equally and that all people should
be treated the same way by the legal system…this is called “ Rule of Law ”.
 In the age of Rome, the rule of law was still a new idea.
ROMAN LAW
 I n m a ny l a n d s , p e o p l e a t t h e to p o f t h e s o c i et y o f te n h a d s p e c i a l p r i v i le g e s a n d d i d n o t
h av e to o b ey t h e s a m e l aw s o r u s e t h e s a m e c o u r t s a s p e o p l e a t t h e b o t to m .
 I n s o m e p l a c es p e o p l e a t t h e b o t to m o f s o c i et y d i d n o t h av e a ny l e g a l r i g h t s a t a l l .
ROMAN LAW
 The Rule of Law is one of the key ideas that the Romans gave to the world.
 It is still the basis of our legal system today.
ROMAN LAW
 Questions:
 1) What was the first law code in Rome called?
 2)Where were this law code displayed for people to read?
 3) What was the “Rule of Law”?
ROMAN LAW
 Questions:
 1) What was the first law code in Rome called?
 The Twelve Tables
 2)Where were this law code displayed for people to read?
 Rome’s Marketplace and Forum
 3) What was the “Rule of Law”?
 Law that treated all people fairly