Transcript Lex talionis

THE RISE OF THE
ROMAN REPUBLIC
REPUBLIC
 A form of government with elected leaders developed in Rome
in 509 B.C.E.
 Not all citizens could participate
 At first, only the Patricians could vote and hold of fice.
 Created a divide between the Plebeians and Patricians.
 Creation of the Roman Republic made Rome more democratic
(but still not a complete democracy)
DIFFERENCE BET WEEN PATRICIANS AND
PLEBEIANS
Patricians
Plebeians
 Upper Class
 Wealthy Landowners
 Owned valuable land
 House in the city and
Villa in the countryside
 Held all the government
positions at first
 Made up around 95% of
the population
 Plebs means “many”
 Mostly peasants,
farmers, laborers,
craftspeople and
shopkeepers.
 Could not take part in
the government at first
 Served in the military
SENATE
 300 Men elected by
the Patricians
 Senate decisions were
treated as laws
 Were extremely
Powerful
 Elected two leaders to
be Consuls
 Consuls shared
command of the Army
THE PLEBEIANS REBEL
“Conflict of Orders”
In 494 B.C.E. the
Plebeians decided to
protest
 Left the city of Rome
 Stopped working on the
farms
 Refused to fight for
Rome in the Army
PLEBEIANS GAIN POLITICAL EQUALIT Y
 Patricians agreed to let the Plebeians participated in the
government
 Tribunes – elected Plebeians who spoke on their behalf
 Tribunes later gained the power to veto (over rule actions)
 Council of Plebs (only made laws for the Plebeians)
 Around 451 B.C.E. after continued protests by the Plebeians,
the Patricians agreed to have laws written down on tablets
called the Twelve Tables
TWELVE TABLES
 IV. 2 "If a father surrender his son for sale three times, the son shall be
free."
 V. 7 A spendthrif t is forbidden to exercise administration over his own
goods.
 V. 8 The inheritance of a Roman citizen -freedman is made over to his
patron, if the freedman has died intestate and has no natural successor.
http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/1 2tables.html
TWELVE TABLES CONTINUES
 VI. 2 Marriage by `usage' ( usus): 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 wife.
 VIII. 1 "If any per son has sung or composed against another per son a
SONG ( carmen) such as was causing slander or insult.... he shall be
clubbed to death."
 VIII. 2 "If a per son has maimed another's limb, let there be retaliation
in kind, unless he agrees to make compensation with him." ( Lex
talionis)
 VIII. 23 "Whoever is convicted of speaking false witness shall be flung
from the Tarpeian Rock ."
 VIII. 26 "No per son shall hold meetings in the City at night .“
http://www.csun.edu/~ hcfll004/1 2tables.html
STRUGGLE FOR EQUALIT Y
 Plebeians continued to fight for equality.
 367 B.C.E. A new law said that one of the Roman consuls had
to be a Plebeian
 287 B.C.E. the Plebeians gained the right to pass laws for all
citizens. Now Plebeians could be in the Senate and the
Tribunes power was increased.
 After 200 years of struggle, the Plebeians had won their fight
for equality.
CONSTITUTION
 Set of Basic Laws about a government
 Rome was one of the first to form a Constitution
 Rome’s Constitution would inspire future generations
including the United States.
 We would follow Rome’s lead with our own constitution,
elected assemblies, checks and balance system, citizenship,
and civic duty.
 “The people’s good is the highest law.” Cicero
OUR CONSTITUTION
OUR FOUNDING FATHERS
SUMMARY
 As a result of the “conflict of orders” between the Plebeians
and the Patricians, Rome became an ef fective Republic and
became more Democratic over time. Rome as a Republic
would only last so long and would set its sight on the rest of
the world and become a mighty empire.
CHECKS AND BALANCES
LIVY
 “ Once upon a time, the different parts of the human
body were not all in agreement… And it seemed very
unfair to the other parts of the body that they should
worry and sweat away to look after the belly. After
all, the belly just sat there… Doing nothing, enjoying
all the nice things that came along. So they hatched
a plot. The hands weren’t going to take food to the
mouth; even if they did, the mouth wasn’t going to
accept it… They went into sulk (stayed silent or to be
in a bad mood) and waited for the belly to cry for
help. But while they waited, one by one all the parts
of the body got weaker and weaker. The moral of
this story? The belly too has its job to do. It has to
be fed, but it also does feeding of its own.”
- LIVY