Unit 3: Democracy in Rome

Written Assignment Unit 4

University of the People

HIST 1421: Greek and Roman Civilization

Professor Darrel Van Hoose

April 30, 2023

 Rome is a prominent part of history today. There were many circumstances and events

that led up to Rome's setting up a Republic. There were specific components that led to making

Rome democratic, although not exactly like the one we know today. Some of these elements

could very well make one uncertain about the nature of the democracy of Rome. Below I will

discuss these points in detail.

Before the Romans overthrew the Etruscans, they were ruled over for hundreds of years.

The final king of Rome was an Etruscan named Lucius Targquinius Superbus. Thanks to him,

Rome was the head of other Latin cities. However, Tarquinius was known as a cruel and violent

tyrant. The last straw was Tarquinius’s son raping the wife of the Collatian governor (Lumen

Learning, 2022). In 509 BC, Junius Brutus led a rebellion and drove out the Etruscans from the

city and ultimately, all of Latium. A Republic was then established in Rome (Carey, 2006).

There were specific factors that helped to make Rome more democratic. The Senate ran

the republic, including passing laws and collecting taxes. The Senate was made up of the upper

class, patricians. They were wealthy landowners. There were two consuls that served as heads

over the senate. In order to actually become a consul, it was required that you be elected via a

popular vote from Roman citizens. These consuls would also choose a senator who would serve

for life. The assembly was a second aspect of the Roman government. The lower class (also

known as the plebians) elected them. While the Assembly didn’t have any “real” power, they had

most citizens' support, which helped a lot (Mr. Donn, 2007).

A set of laws was written on stone between 451 and 450 BCE. These were called the

Twelve Tables, written so that before the law, all citizens would be treated equally. Interestingly
enough, it would be this Roman approach to law that would have a lasting impact. It would

become a “blueprint”, so to speak, for countless legal systems that followed, and continue even

up to the present era. This Roman constitution would even be subject to later amendments, after

an uprising from the plebeians, which would ultimately cause the resignation of the decemviri

(Cartwright, 2016). Rome even had a system of “checks and balances” set in place. This would

help to stop one class or individual from solely being able to control the government in the

Roman Republic (CRF, 2007).

Even with all the amazing advancements Rome made with the Republic, there were areas

that would show that they are not fully democratic. Regarding the Senate, officially they were

only supposed to be able to offer advice and the power was in the hands of the people, it didn’t

go that way. The Senate had acquired quite the status from its members, thus giving them a lot of

power (Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.). There was also the problem with the bias of the Senate

itself. They would favor the interests of the wealthy citizens. With the patricians being the only

ones who could hold office, this was inevitable. Another issue with the Republic of Rome was

that only male citizens could vote. Even if women or “low-class” individuals were citizens, they

were not able to vote (US History, 2011).

Slavery was sadly a big part of Rome. Slaves were not only forced to do manual labor,

household work, and public work, they were also forced to be gladiators. Here they would battle

until death-all for the entertainment of those watching (Crowther, 2018).

In conclusion, there were many events and circumstances that led to the establishment of

Rome’s Republic government. Furthermore, there were even specific democratic components
that Rome’s government had. With that said, there were still many features that clearly showed

their government was not fully a democracy.

Word Count:640

References:

Carey, W. L. (2006, June 1). ROMAN HISTORY (753 B.C. - A.D. 476). The Latin

Library. Retrieved April 30, 2023, from

http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/historians/narrative/romanhistory.html#:~:text=In%20spite

%20of%20Rome's%20progress,and%20Rome%20became%20a%20republic.

Cartwright, M. (2016, April 11). Twelve Tables. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved

April 30, 2023, from https://www.worldhistory.org/Twelve_Tables/

Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Roman Republic. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved April

30, 2023, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Roman-Republic

Crowther, N. (2018). The Roman Republic. In Democracy and Education (pp. 54-56).

EdTech Books. Retrieved May 4, 2023, from https://edtechbooks.org/democracy/romanrepublic.

Foundation for Constitutional Rights (CRF). (2007). Cicero: Defender of the Roman

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republic#:~:text=The%20Roman%20Republic%20had%20an,them%20for%20one%2Dyear

%20terms.

Lumen Learning. (2022, April 12). The establishment of the Roman Republic. In Western

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Mr. Donn. (2007, June 15). Ancient Rome - The Roman Senate. Retrieved May 3, 2023,

from https://rome.mrdonn.org/senate.html#:~:text=At%20the%20head%20of%20the,Senate

%20if%20a%20senator%20died

Mr. Donn. (2007, July 29). Plebians and Patricians. Retrieved May 3, 2023, from

https://rome.mrdonn.org/plebs.html
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republic/

USHistory.org. (2011, March 7). The Roman Republic. US History. Retrieved April 30,

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