Republic: The Roman Republic

Over a long course of time the Romans had many different forms of government. From oligarchies to dictatorships Rome had experience with most forms of government. With all of these happening so far in the past many questions are asked today. One of the most talked and quested forms of Roman government is the Roman Republic. The Republic of Rome is normally thought to be a democracy. But an extremely common question still arise. This questions is whether the Roman Republic was truly democratic. In a simple answer the Roman Republic was a democratic government.

As Rome became independent from the Etruscan ruling, its government walked away from having a monarch and transformed into a Republic as a way to avoid the tyranny that many times comes with an absolute autocrat. Rigorous precautions were taken from the start in order to keep the power balanced. Moreover, the structure of the government was meant to be resilient to bad judgment. The structure of the Roman Republic with its government and law provided for a more just system.

Was Rome more of a Republic or Empire? In a sense, Rome was a both a Republic and Empire throughout different times in history. At first, Rome was very much a Republic. It had no one leader and instead had many different elected representatives. The people of Rome could voice their opinions and influence the government. However, with the fall of the Republic, Rome soon became an Empire with only one leader. This leader, or emperor, usually did whatever they felt like and did not have to listen to those around them. Historians considered Rome to be a Republic at around 509 BC.

The Roman Republic was a “democratic” republic, which allowed first citizens to vote, and to choose their governors in the senate (Hence, their consuls). However, it was a nation ruled by its aristocracy, and, consequently, the entire Republic`s power was concentrated in a few individuals. Furthermore, the Senate was controlled by Patricians, which directed the government by using wealth to buy control and power over the decisions of the senate and the consuls. This situation aroused the inconformity of the people; as result, a civil war took place in the Republic (destroying it), and then the Roman Empire was born.

The Roman Republic is a government that began in 509 BC and ended in 27 BC. First of all the Romans were trying to overthrow their Etruscan king (Tarquin the Proud). Etruscan kings had ruled for 100’s of years. After overthrowing the last king the Roman Republic formed. It’s a government in which citizens and representatives were to rule. The Republic was quite different from a democracy.

The Roman Government was a very powerful government that was able to maintain and help the empire grow for around two thousand years. Before being an auspicious Republic, the Roman Empire was ruled by Etruscan kings. However, there were many Romans that weren’t pleased being ruled by a king, so in 509 B.C, the last king was thrown out from his position and this is when the Roman Republic initiated. The government also controlled solid army that helped them maintain the empire. Apart from this, as the empire grew, the government also built an excellent infrastructure for people to live in. The Roman government was a very successful government because of all the time that they were able to maintain an empire and because of all their accomplishments

The Roman Republic was created as a result of Rome’s early and tyrannical kings. This new democratic system was supposed to balance the power between two consuls and the senate in order to prevent any one person from controlling the entire population. It also aimed to ease relations between the separate classes by allowing slaves to purchase their freedom and by allowing anyone to move up in the class system from plebian to senator. The early phase of the Roman Republic was marked by successful foreign conquests, financial prosperity and a well-functioning government; however, as the years went by the republic slowly started to fall.

The Roman Republic and the Roman Empire were both influential and powerful in distinct ways. One compact and one expansive in nature, but each of them could contribute there demise to periods of instability. Both the Republic and Empire lasted approximately 500 years so the success of each was similar in time. There is no comparison if you consider the vast expanse of the Empire all throughout Western Europe. The key difference between the Republic and the Empire was that of political participation of the common man. In the Empire the common man had more political influence, but the reality was only a select few leaders had true political power. The Roman Empire was a superior form of government to the Roman Republic

The Roman government was democratic when it came to the citizens. The citizens could elect their own officials, and the officials were supposed to represent every level of Roman society. There were many types of officials. The two consuls were the chief officials of Rome. Once elected, they served for two years (Trueman, Chris). One of their most important powers was controlling the army (Government under Roman Republic). When they were unsure of a course of action, they were advised by the Senate, a council of around six hundred male citizens (Trueman, Chris). Those six hundred men were usually from wealthy patrician families and were the ones in charge of making the laws and controlling the spending. Contrary to the election of the other officials, the Senate was appointed by the current Consuls. Once they were appointed, they served for life. When one member died, another was chosen in their place (Government).

The Roman Republic and the Roman Empire highly differ in their political structures. The republic: created in 509 BCE. was a form of representative democracy. It consisted of 2 consuls of which were appointed by the senate and then voted on. These consuls were the head officers and the were appointed for one year. The senate was one of two legislative bodies comprised of 300 senators and 10 tribunes who were all patricians. The other body was knows as the tribal assembly and was made up of plebeians who met in a forum to vote on things such as consuls.

One of the most significant reasons that may prove that the Roman Republic is not a democracy is its system in which includes flaws that are not very democratic. In other words, the system can be viewed as rigged. According to Source C, one example of this was that all voting of the people was only held in Rome. This meant that citizens who were not very wealthy or had the ability to waste time

The Romans called their political system not democracy but republic. Republic is something that belongs to the people. In Rome the right to take part in the governing belonged only to the men and those who had the statute of being citizens. The differences of republic and democracy are because of the origin of the two terms Greek and Latin language. The ancient Greeks

Professor Alan Ward wrote an article titled “How Democratic was the Roman Republic?” stating how Rome was not as democratic as everyone thought it was. He argued that only 2 percent of Roman citizens usually voted. Reasons for that may be due to that fact that voting only took place in Rome so only those who could afford the time and expense to go to Rome to vote which were mostly rural voters and their clients. The voters though had no role in selecting candidates for office or in proposing legislation in any assembly. These are reason that go against the fact the Rome was

Throughout the rise and fall of the Roman empire, the government was a combination of a democracy and republic. Starting with Romulus, Rome was first ruled by a series of seven kings until 509 BCE when Rome constructed itself a Republic til

The roman republic came into existence at the termination of the Roman kingship in 507 B.C.E. The last king of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, was expelled by Collatinus and Brutus, as a result of his arrogance involving the matter of one of his relations raping the wholesome Roman matron Lucretia and her subsequent suicide. The rape of Lucretia was really a representation of the frustration that the roman citizens felt regarding the kingship. The later kings had little regard for roman values and the roman populus, which they used as something of a slave labor force. Brutus and Collatinus became the first Roman Consuls, elected by popular vote.