Plebians and The Patricians

Patricians hold all the offices in ancient Rome and plebeians who outnumbered them were mostly farmers, craftsmen and soldiers. Therefore one can understand that practically while plebeians had no rights or knowledge, they were in an advantageous position as patricians couldn’t defend the city or do any kind of job without their help. Plebeians couldn’t tolerate the increasing debt and the abuse of patricians and demanded equality, by blackmailing the patricians

In Ancient Rome, The way society worked was much similar to America. The Roman social class is and has been very significant in the operational American social class. None of the Roman class’ was oppressed or enslaved rather they were split into two. Once the Romans defeated the Etruscans they went on to build an empire that would change the world. Their influence in today’s society is still very present. We still borrow ideas from them. They formed a government where they would elect people to represent for them, called a republic. This is still the foundation for government in most of today’s world. They formed a system of law that was completely ahead of it’s time so much so that it has become the base for many countries legal system today; one of these being The United States. The political system they built, coincidental caused a division between the Romans. Plebeians were the common people of Rome; the Patricians who were the ones of higher class could serve in the consul. This was the highest position in the senate. The Assembly was made up of Plebeians. They had gained a significant amount of importance when they were the ones given the power to elect Consuls. The Assembly head position was a tribune; he was the leader of the Assembly and had a lot of power. Then they developed the Law of Twelve Tables, a

Plebeians pressured the patricians to make political concessions, one result being the publication of laws which served as a check on decisions by judicial officers. New officials and tribunes were created and were drawn from non-elite classes. They could veto or block actions the Assembly or officials that threatened lower order interests.

Subsequently, the system was corrupted because weak or vulnerable individuals were associating with men in power; in exchange of support, and loyalty, for the sake of protection, which broke the Democracy. Socrates said, “Democracy elevates men to positions of authority not because of their wisdom or their fitness to govern, but because of their ability to sway the masses with empty rhetoric. In Democracy, it is not truth that matters; it is public relations.” That is exactly what it was happening in the Roman Republic.

The palebians made up the majority of the population. But they were not allowed to have any say in political issues. The palebians were the poor, lower class citizens who couldn't become priests or be a part of the senate. They were the peasants, craftsmen, farmers, and shopkeepers. On the other hand, the patricians were the ones who were wealthy (the upper class) and the only ones that could have power in religious offices, in the senate, and could control over the military. Unllike the Palebians, the patricians were the smaller part of the population that had all the power. But just because the Patricians had all the control over Rome, this did not mean that the Palebians weren't important or "necessary"

It is clear that the dynamics that characterized Rome’s society during the Republic were never easy. There was a constant push and pull of intentions and interests between Patricians and Plebeians. The Patricians always wanting to maintain economic and political supremacy while the Plebeians were in constant

Why were plebeians so important to Rome? In the ancient Roman where dictatorship was at it perk involving the two kings of Etruscan, there arise a union between Patricians and the Plebeians. Brutus led the revolt that drove out the Etruscan Kings, who then became the first leader of the new republic. Romans now govern themselves freely but inequality set in between the Patricians and the Plebeians. The power then rests in the hands of the aristocrats or noble rich men called patricians.

However, the real authority of the republic lay in the hands of the patricians this power could not and would not remain. The plebeians, who made up most of the army and did most of the real work, rebelled, going on strike and demanding an equal voice in the government. Out of this struggle came the Conflict of Order, a class “war” that lasted from 494 to 287 BCE. It was a fight that brought about meaningful change: a plebeian assembly, the Concilium Plebis. Through this new congress, the plebeians could elect tribunes who, like consuls, served for one year. Their primary function was to safeguard plebeian rights against patrician abuse. Their duties were in many ways like that of the consuls; however, they could veto any magistrate decision

It can be seen that the problem was that patrician were lording power over the plebeians. Electing tribunes to protect the rights of a plebeian was important because it helped the empire be fair and equal to all the citizens which helped everyone be content. This prevented violent demonstrations from breaking out.

We can see just how important the Plebeians were to Rome during first Plebeian revolt. The Plebeians, fed up with being treated as second-class citizens while doing all the work, retreated from the military and from Rome, leaving the Patricians to fend for themselves. The Patricians, realizing the danger they were in, quickly agreed to the demands of the Plebeians (Morey, W. C., Ph.D., 1901).

Rome felt under constant threat, at the beginning of the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic was initially ruled by the rich and powerful. This ruling began “After the overthrow of the monarchy, Roman nobles, eager to maintain their position of power, established a republican form of government”(p.129). Later on, this power to the rich would prove chaos. The patricians who “were descendants of the original senators appointed during the period of the kings were great landowners, who constituted an aristocratic governing class”(p.129). The plebeians did not have this power of authority like the patricians did. The plebeians were “constituted the considerably larger group of non-patrician large landowners, less wealthy landholders, artisans, merchants, and small farmers”(p.129). These people could vote with the patricians but could not be elected into office, they could not marry someone out of the patricians and vice versa, it was forbidden for these groups to intertwine.

In the Roman Republic, citizens were divided into two political castes: the Patricians and Plebeians. The Patricians were a wealthy upper class who were descended from the earliest Roman families, while the Plebeians were essentially "everyone else." As I have explored in the fourth entry of my Learning Journal, one reason why the Plebeians were so important was that they comprised the vast majority of Rome's total population. As such, they had certain power to control the direction of the Republic; without them, Rome could not function, and the Plebeian class put this power to use on more than one occasion. Their many secessio (secessions) would become known as the Conflict of the Orders (McManus, n.d.).

Though united to remove the kings from Rome. There was a gap in the governance system of Rome. Though it was a republic, it was not a democratic republic but an autocratic republic and the powers to rule rested in the hands of the Patricians. It is true that the Plebeians did vote in the comitia centuriata but they could not hold any office and could not sit in the Senate. Beside that the rule o the Patricians was no difference from the kings in terms of oppression and brutality, hence the Plebeians could not submit to the rule of the Patricians forever and this was a recipe of revolting.

The major positions and bodies of the Roman include republican era, and imperial era. Republican era consist of executive power such as consul and dictator; legislative power such as senate and tribal assembly; veto power such as tribunes which voted and chosen by Roman citizens. Albeit there was Emperor who is the ruler of Rome during the imperial era, it is never a hereditary position. Those people who were Emperors, they were the war hero and military genius which mean knowing how to obtain the support from the army and Roman citizens. All these helped to set up the foundation of the Roman democracy. As the information provided, it reflects that ancient Roman already had a concept of voting the ideal people to represent them. If the government is not responding citizens’ appeal, they would refuse to participate in national military service and labor as to require the government to agree or response. This is very similar to strike nowadays. Workers united together as a way to negotiate with the boss. It can be considered as a phenomenon which often happens in a democratic

They had zero power in Rome’s aristocratic democracy, and were basically limited to the will of the Patrician’s. because of this unbalanced political power, Plebeian’s who were unable to pay their debt were often arrested and forced into slavery. This further oppressed the Plebeian people. Furthermore, the unfair division of public land kept Rome’s land that was meant for ALL people in the hands of the