Was Rome A Democracy Essay

Democracy:is a system of government by the whole population or all of the eligible members of a state,typically through elected representatives. In the Roman Republic they were kind of a democratic because anyone who was in the democratic was allowed to vote. People who were picking the councilmen were able to know who be selected at the end and didn’t tell anyone until everyone was not voting anymore.If people did not live in the democracy they were automatically not able to vote nor would they still be in the democratic society. Democracy of historical of racism was a big deal back in the day because when people heard that there was a big problem

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.

Romans were a civilization that originated after the Greek culture. They, like Greeks, saw an extreme significance in the idea of a love for one’s country and loyalty. The Romans, however, were more concerned with public affairs such as education, sanitation, and health. They held a strong connection with their ancestors and wished to imitate what the ancient Romans did. Although Romans rejected the idea of a Rex, or king, they favored the common hero. They wanted a leader who a “regular Joe”, someone who was average and could still led an average life after doing extraordinary things. The Romans also had a very defined government that was broken into consuls, senate, and assembly. There were two consuls who served in place of the king as the leaders of the Roman Empire. Next in succession was the senate, comprised only of patricians who debated and passed legislation. Finally, there was the assembly made for the plebeians to approve laws.

Roman government is the origin for all of our current government system. The Romans has three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The executive had two councils that decided on pretty much every affair within the empire. In the legislative branch was a senate, which advised the executive branch. Lastly in the judicial they had a Supreme Court. Also there was a written law consisting of twelve tablets that gave allowed the citizens to know their rights. As one can tell, the Roman system of government is much like the one currently residing in the United States of America.

     The civilization of the Roman Republic and the Empire that followed it was the first of its kind. Earlier civilizations had been based on a more abstract worldview that led humans to be creative for the will of the gods or to preserve the institutions that fostered rational thought. Rome started as a simple, self-reliant nation made up of farmers who lived the best they could to support their families and community. With an intense drive to succeed and its advanced military, Rome became the greatest civilization of its time. The civilization of 21st century America can follow its roots two thousand years back to Rome.

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

Within the Roman administration were various levels of authority. The central administration of the Roman Empire was located in Rome, which included the Roman Senate. The Emperor had complete rule over the empire, and depending on the type of state or territory, the Emperor could have direct control. If not under the direct control of the emperor, each region or city-state had a governor (or prefect or procurator) who then reported to the emperor (Tomorad, 2014). Interesting to note that Jewish leaders (high priests) and families found privilege with the Roman administration and became comfortable with the lifestyle that the Romans lived and took full advantage of it (Wenham & Walton,

Citizens in Rome that are assigned these jobs not only attain a high position but also have a lot more power and authority. For example, according to Source A, Consuls, who are also considered magistrates, had “the absolute authority in running the military… and can spend as much public money as they choose”. They were ultimately “...the supreme masters of the government.” (Source A). This part of the government would lead historians to believe that the constitution was despotism, not a democracy. Another reason showing that the Roman Republic was not a democracy was the how the Senate had functioned. The Senate presents laws and deals with issues outside of the civilization. Scholars may consider this to be an

Unlike Athenian Democracy, Rome was ruled as a republic. “ Republic” was a government controlled by the people. It was not a democratic system, in the sense of Athenian democracy. Because political power in Rome was in the hands of wealthy aristocrats, the Roman Republic was best described as an elected oligarchy. The government of the Roman Republic comprised in three

From 509 BC to about 27 BC, Rome was considered a republic. During this time there was no single leader of Rome and the government was run by elected officials. The main leaders of the Roman Republic were the consuls. There were always two consuls in power at a time. Each year new consuls were elected to serve for a one-year term. This kept any one man from becoming too powerful in the government. At the time the Senate was the most powerful governing body in Rome. The Senate had control of the state’s finances and foreign policies. Senators were elected by the people to represent them in government. The Senate was made up of 300 of the most elite and wealthiest of the Roman Republic. One of the most important roles of the Senate to undergo the checks and balances of the Roman government. Checks and balances are the “principle of government under which separate branches are empowered to prevent actions by other branches and are induced to share power” (The Editors). The checks and balances of Rome helped to stabilize the government and allowed the power to be distributed somewhat equally between the consul, the Senate, and the people. However, the fall of the Roman Empire eliminated this type aspect of government in Rome (Kagan 101-103).

Rome was extremely organized in the sense that it had in-depth infrastructure and politics. For example, the Roman road network was most complex and advanced road network in the classical world. (Doc 3) Travel, trade, and military actions were all made quicker and easier. This, of course, kept the empire alive for so long. Rome was also organized politically. From a very early point in its history, Rome wrote extensive laws. This is shown by codes such as the Twelve Tables, detailing points such as different ways to deal with debt. (Doc 7) Codes of law such as this are indicative of Rome’s early political organization. The main purpose of creating laws such as these was to maintain order and control over the people of Rome. Without laws and codes detailing aspects of life, the civilization would not be very effective in governing its people. Not only was Rome highly organized, it also had a significant amount of social progress. This can be seen in the ability for people in the civilization to become citizens. In Rome almost every person living in the empire can be a citizen with the exception of slaves. (Doc 8) This contrasts with other civilizations such as Athens that only offered citizenship to males born in the republic. This social progress found in Rome in combination with the great organization of the civilization aided Rome in lowering unrest and adding to the overall

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).

Rome became a powerful empire engulfing much of Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia and what seemed like this great entity called the Romans were always in the search of more territory and land to conquer and assimilate into their ever growing vast empire. However, this was not always the case, before Rome became one of the greatest empires in all of history, Rome was a republic. They were government consisted of a Senate who much like our country today represented certain classes of the citizens of the Republic. During the growth and rise of the Roman republic conquering neighboring territories and competing for land grabs was not Romans primary objectives. Romans

A large aspect of Roman history has been focused on the discussion over its system of government. Many later states would emphasis their influence stemming from Rome, such as the case seen within the republican and democratic ideals key to post-revolutionary France. This raises an important question about Roman government itself, was it actually the inklings of a democracy? Historians, such as Ronald Syme, have made the argument that the glimpses seen of democracy in ancient Rome are little more than an illusion hiding a system of elite control. This is further evidence with through analysis of the control through Roman patronage, the system of wealthy hereditary networks, and the maintenance of power through appeasement of the popululus.

The Roman Republic began in 509 B.C.E. with the overthrow of the Etruscan monarchy. In 27 B.C.E the Roman Empire began with Octavian Caesar becoming the emperor, this ended almost 500 years of republican self-government. There is much debate over why Rome became so powerful so quickly. Many think it had to do with Rome's military strength. Others think that it was because Rome knew of and controlled most of the trade routes. Still others believed it had to do with the technology that was advanced during the Roman Republic. All of these factors played significant roles, but which one played the most important role?