The Patricians And Pleminian Classes In The Roman Republic

This new republic was plagued by tension arising from the class differences of the patricians and plebeians. The Gracchi brothers attempted to equalize things, Gaius Gracchus proposed a redistribution of farm land that would benefit the plebeians. The end result was rather unfortunate as he was killed; his other brother was also killed ten years later for similar reasons.

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

All members of the Senate were of the Patrician or wealthy landowner class. There was a second part of Roman government was the assembly. The assembly was elected by Romans from the Plebeian class (common people). Julius Caesar made himself a dictator, and became the absolute ruler of Rome and its territories.

Chapter three labeled "Empire Urban life and imperial Majesty in Rome,China,and India. In Republican Rome a man named Romulus inaugurated traditional distinction between the patricians and the plebian. The patricians were the where the land owners who were also aristocrats that served as priests, magistrates, lawyers and/or judges. The plebian were the lower classed poor people who consisted of craftsmen, merchants and laborers. In 510 BCE the roman people expelled the last Etruscan kings and decided to rule themselves with without the need for a monarchy.

The trials of political success and error throughout history, have led to more efficient and authentic ways of governing, making nations stronger over the course of time. While the United States and the Roman Republic share similar political systems, the structure of the Roman Republic is in many ways flawed compared to the modern Democratic Republic of the U.S. nation. The Roman Republic’s rigid social structure flawed their political system because there was less flexibility within the social ladder, affecting citizens and their opportunity to be elected into office. The Republic’s society was made up of two distinct and separate social classes, the Patricians and the Plebeians. “In the early years of the Roman Republic, patricians controlled all the religious and political offices; plebeians had no right of appeal against decisions of the patrician government, since no laws were codified or published.

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 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"

The Plebeans were less wealthy people of Rome. They were farmers and working class people who could not hold Government officers. Then there were the slaves who were conquered people from other countries or people in debt. The social structure also involved the Pate Family, which was when the male members of the family were in charge. In the United Sates today there is an Upper Class of rich and powerful people, The middle class of working class people, and the lower class, which are made up of poverty stricken

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

Rome could have avoided the social division between the plebeians and the patricians by having equal rights and voting privileges between both classes from the beginning. However, I am not sure if this could have easily been prevented since Rome was more adaptive of other's cultures and ideas. I see Rome trying to accommodate some of the areas in which was conquered, which was a good thing, unfortunately I think it caused a bit of a social divide. Rome added in a large amount of divers ideas and ways of thinking possibly could have led to this divided that happened with in Rome. With only certain groups within a legal system having access to law changes and even knowing what the law is would of course, led to a ghastly problem or "Struggle

Struggle of the Orders was a political battle between the Plebeians and Patricians in which the Plebeians were seeking political equality. Plebeians started gained more power and rights when they were given the opportunity to organize their own body of assembly and the right to pass plebiscites. The early Romans were miserable living under a king, so they created a republic. That is when the tribune was created, 493 B.C. In place of a king, the Romans elected two consuls, Tribunes, with equal power later there were five elected then ten. The consuls served for only one year and could not be elected again. The consuls held veto power over one another.

This conflict was known as the struggle of the orders. During this conflict the plebeians wanted to increase their power, that was by taking advantage of the fact that Rome's survival depended on its army, in which it actually needed plebeians to fill the ranks of the infantry. In fact, it was stated that plebeians had actually walked out of Rome and refused to serve in the army back in 494 B.C.E. That strike worked, and the patricians grudgingly made important concessions, in which they allowed the plebeians to elect their own officials, the tribune, who could bring plebeian grievances to the senate for resolution, who presided over the concilium pleblis, and who could also veto the decisions of the consuls. Patricians were the only ones that knew the law, and the only ones that could argue the cases in court, in which they used the law for their own benefit. The plebeians were the ones that wanted the law codified and published, but many patricians opposed to the attempts by plebeians to gain legal

They claimed that their ancestry gave them authority to make laws for Rome. The plebeians were citizens of Rome with the right to vote. However, they were barred by law from holding the most important government positions. In time, Rome’s leaders allowed the plebeians to form their own assembly and elect representatives called tribunes. Tribunes protected the rights of the plebeians from unfair acts of patrician officials. (page 156)

The differences in power between plebeians and the patricians created an immense social gap. This created social instability in the republic and was a factor in its demise. Both of these factors made it easy for the plebeians to be manipulated and pitted against each other for the sake of the wealthy like Caesar and Mark Antony. A final reason we have is that the Plebeians as a collective group had deteriorated morals.

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.