A common argument right now is “How democratic was Rome?”. This ravages our minds while we try to figure it out. But some people, like Polybius, may be able to help answer this question. Rome was a place where people had a lot of power. Some people may argue that there were many people who had much more power in Rome, and that may be true, but the people still had an abundance of power. Rome also had their own constitution. The three parts of the constitution were The Consuls, The Senate, and The Assemblies. These were the only higher powers in Rome, but they did not have an extremely large amount of power. Rome was very democratic because people could legislate, people could vote, and there weren’t too many higher powers. One of the powers people had was that they could legislate. Legislation helped Rome be a very democratic, because it gave people a little more power. Legislation was where they could help create the laws. “The most fundamental of all the rights of the people was, however, the fact that they, and they alone, could legislate.” This already clearly shows how much power the people had in Rome. So, this proves that people can have much power, which would make Rome a democracy. …show more content…
Voting was a very powerful thing. It meant that the people could decide what happens in the area. This could include who gets spots in what, what laws are passed, etc. Also, almost everybody had a vote. “Every adult male citizen, unless specifically disqualified, had a vote, and there was no formal exclusion of the poor. Free slaves could also vote….” This is significant because it gave people even more rights and power. There were also only a few people who could not vote, like women, and disqualified people. This all states that people had an abundancy of power, and that majorly supports that Rome was a
In the end, all of this say that because of your gender and you economical and geographical state, voting was inaccessible to you, which means that the whole population was not practicing the social equality which is required to be considered democratic. Although the historians that wrote both documents A and B had some strong points, as shown in document C, that the role of the people was not as important as it really was. According to Alan Ward, “The voters had no role in selecting candidates for office or in proposing legislation in any assembly. The magistrates and tribunes, with or without a prior recommendation from the senate, were the only ones who could place legislation before the voters.” This is a very important pieces of information that helps us realize the true government roles the people played in Roman times.
-The Roman Republic people had a lot less power than the Athenian Democracy, But, it was supported by practices and principles. Rome could not have a direct democracy like Athens because it was so much larger.
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
So if you were Roman but lived somewhere far they normally didn’t want to commute or didn’t have the money to vote. They only allowed men to vote. This did not include slaves although they did allow free male slaves. Document C claims “that only 2% of Roman citizens usually voted,
Rome had so much land they needed to create an efficient way to make laws. Each part of Rome would vote for one of their men citizens to become a representative. The man voted to be the representative would move closer to Rome and vote for laws their people would want. In document D it says , “And the law is as follows: Each citizen wrote the name of the man who in his opinion had the greatest power to destroy the democracy; the man who got the largest number of ostraka was obligated to go into exile from his native land for a period of ten years.” In Ancient Greece, there was a direct democracy. They would have 500 men come together to vote for new laws for their city-state. Rome had the more efficient type of government because it was more fair and fewer people had to vote. Lastly, Rome had a social class and Senate. The Senate would be made up of 300 Patricians. The Patricians are wealthy nobles in the upper class. The Plebeians would vote for the Patricians to become part of the Senate. The Plebeians we part of the common class. The Patricians would have to impress the Plebeians to try to get their vote to become part of the consul. If men were picked to become part of the Senate they served for
Arthur Miller, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of The Crucible, uses words to feel and convey the feelings created by characters and events in his novels. Witchcraft was the fulfilling lies of the courtroom authority, and separated the Puritan society. He enhances his message of overwhelming authority with such a plethora of literary devices such as hyperbole, irony, and fallacy to explain and demonstrate the abusing of power throughout The Crucible.
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).
As opposed to Carthage which was ruled by two kings and a legislative assemble picked by these kings Rome was one of the world’s first republics, the same type of political system we have today.
The Roman Republic was in fact democratic because in article A it states that they had three groups of government the Senate( 300 former Magistrates selected by the most powerful magistrates), the Assemblies Large groups of different Romans, and last but not least the Elected Magistrates and Consuls(small groups of elected men known as magistrates). These all played different roles the Elected Magistrates and Consuls directed the military and government, the Senate advised the Magistrates
I believe that the Roman Empire was mostly a democracy. If you look at how they ran their government with three branches, the Senate, the Consuls, and the Assemblies you can see that they were run by the people. Although they did have some trouble with their constitution in my opinion Rome was more of an exact variation of democracy not a true democracy.
I am very persistent. Once I set my mind to something, I strive for it until I achieve it or it has proved impossible for me to obtain my goal. It was once my goal to join the Army. Although I was overweight, I worked until I made the correct weight limit and kept trying to join until they told me I couldn't join because I had eczema as a child. I believe that I should always try my hardest and do my best as much as possible in every situation.
The Romans built on direct democracy to a representative democracy. They also introduced the assembly who approved or rejected laws,
There is a fundamental difference between a democracy and a republic as it concerned the political entitlement of the citizenry. The citizens of a republic do not participate directly with governmental affairs. The citizens of a republic can however have a say in who does participate. The Roman republic has two prefect systems to prevent dictatorship which didn’t work.
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
Christ in Majesty is a Romanesque fresco secco from the 12th century that was transferred to plaster and wood. It was originally located in the apse of the Church of Santa Maria de Mur in Catalonia, Spain but now is located in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston as a gift from the Maria Antoinette Evans Fund. The fresco is a transition from Roman and Byzantine Art to Gothic Art. The artist of Christ in Majesty utilizes his art to educate people in the doctrines of the Christian faith.