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The Government of the RepublicWorld History – Mrs. Crum-Reinsel

Government FQ: How is power defined, used, and transferred in ancient and modern governments?

Principles of Roman Government

The Roman system of government was a combination of three forms of government: / The following all had roles in the Roman government: / Roman government consisted of the following groups:
Democracy / Average Citizens / Assemblies
Aristocracy / Wealthy Aristocrats / Senate
Monarchy / Strong Leaders / Magistrates

The Roman government was structured by a constitution:

a system of rules by which a government is organized

Rome vs. the United States

Rome = unwritten constitution based on tradition and custom

U.S. = written constitution

Roman government usedseparation of powers:

shared power among different people with set roles so that no one person could become too powerful, as the Roman kings had

Ways Roman government limited power:

  1. Elected two leaders called consuls (top two magistrates) who held equal power and could veto, or stop/cancel, the action of the other
  2. Limited time of officials in office to one year as they could not do much harm in that short period of time

Roman government also used checks and balances:

the division of power among three branches of government:

  1. Assemblies – groups of adult male Roman citizens who passed laws and elected magistrates
  2. Senate – wealthy, important citizens who controlled foreign policy and government money
  3. Magistrates – elected official who enforced the law and judged cases (the top two magistrates were consuls)

Each branch had its own set of powers, which were balanced against the powers of the other two branches. No one branch could hold total power so each branch could stop the other branches from misusing their powers.

Rome vs. the United States

Rome = Assemblies, Senate, Magistrates

U.S. = President, Congress, Supreme Court

Roman government also used rule of law:

the law applied to everyone, even elected officials

Rome vs. the United States

Rome = rule of law

U.S. = rule of law

Roman Citizens

Rome vs. the United States

Rome = free Roman men were citizens and were the only ones with a direct

role in government, citizens wore togas

U.S. = anyone can be a citizen and have a direct role in government

Rights and responsibilities of Roman citizens:

  1. Right to a trial
  2. Right to vote
  3. Responsibility to serve in the army

Rome vs. the United States

Rome = only adult male citizens had a right to a trial and a right to vote;

serving in the military was not an option

U.S. = everyone has a right to a trial and all citizens have the right to vote;

serving in the military is an option (most of the time)

Roman citizens were divided into two orders:

  1. Patricians – members of the oldest families, usually wealthy, may have controlled all government offices in the early days of the republic
  2. Plebians – majority of the population, did not come from famous old families, most were farmers and artisans, some were wealthy, forced patricians to open political office to them (left the city during a war when their numbers were needed to fight, so patricians gave into their demand to hold political office in order to get them to come back to the city to fight)

The Assemblies and Senate

Assemblies:

  1. Worked like a democracy
  2. All adult males could participate, but the vote of wealthy usually counted for more than that of the poor
  3. Elected officials and passed laws
  4. Form of direct democracy, but the powers of the assembly could be checked by the powers of the senate

Senate:

  1. Worked like an oligarchy and was the most powerful part of Roman government
  2. Wealthiest, wisest, and most famous of older Roman men, usually former magistrates
  3. Chosen by the censor, an elected official
  4. Did not represent the people
  5. Job was to guide Rome by advising the assemblies and magistrates, who almost always followed the advice of the senate
  6. Ran foreign policy and decided how to spend money

Rome vs. the United States

Rome = run like a democracy and an oligarchy combined

U.S. = run like a democracy

Magistrates

Magistrates:

  1. Elected officials (elected by the assemblies)
  2. Power they had equated them to monarchs
  3. Wealthy men whose families had a history of holding high offices
  4. Moved from lower to higher offices, a.k.a. “The Race of Honors”

“The Race of Honors”:

Lower Offices:

  1. Quastor – lowest office, accountants who kept track of the money and served as assistants to higher officials
  2. Aedile – next office in the ascension, officials in charge of holding festivals and maintaining public buildings

Tribunes of the Plebs:

  1. Elected official
  2. Acted as protectors of the plebians, sometimes took radical or revolutionary positions
  3. Right to veto laws and actions of any magistrates – the veto gave them great power over all government
  4. Forbidden to harm a tribune or keep him from doing his job

Praetors and Consuls:

  1. Wore special togas (purple border)
  2. Sat on ivory chairs
  3. Followed around by bodyguards called lictors who carried the fasces, which were bundles of rods and an axe and were symbols of a high magistrate’s power

Praetor:

  1. Elected official
  2. Judged cases, managed the city, led armies in times of war

Consuls:

  1. Top officials in government
  2. Led army
  3. Presided over senate and assemblies
  4. Highest judges

Dictators:

  1. Important public official, not a cruel tyrant
  2. Voted to appointment by senate in times of emergency
  3. Held complete power for a limited time – maximum of six months

The Roman Example

The Roman republic was the most successful and long-lasting republic until modern times. The writers of the United States Constitution knew a great deal about the Roman republic and based the government of the United States on it.

Rome vs. the United States

Rome / United States
Constitution / unwritten
based on tradition and custom / written
Government (1) / three branches with separate powers
assemblies, senate, magistrates / three branches with separate powers
president, congress, supreme court
Government (2) / ran like a democracy (assemblies) and oligarchy (senate) combined / run like a democracy
Government (3) / separation of powers and checks and balances by power of veto
consuls and tribune of the plebs / separation of powers and checks and balances by power of veto
president
Rule of Law / applied to all citizens / applied to all citizens
Citizens / free men only participated in government
no women or slaves / anyone can participate in government
includes women
Right to Trial / citizens only
no women or slaves / all citizens
includes women
Right to Vote / citizens only
no women or slaves / all citizens
includes women
Military / responsibility of citizens / option for citizens
Government Office / only citizens have right to run for office
no women or slaves / all citizens have right to run for office
includes women
Democracy / direct democracy
assemblies / representative democracy
congress
Senate / did not represent the people / represents the people
Laws / voted on by citizens (assemblies) / voted on by representatives elected by the citizens