roman government presentation

Roman Government By Chris, Josh, Samantha, and KC

Republic Tarquin, the Etruscan king, was driven from power. Without a king, Rome

became a republic. -Supreme power held by the people and elected representatives

Citizens were allowed to pursue government offices, and men ( who were wealthy, capable, and competitive), vied for power, glory, and honor.

Senate The Roman Senate consisted of elders that were aristocratic. To join the Senate, you must be a previously elected official. Once in, you were Senate for life, however, you can run for a higher status in the Cursus Honorum.

Conflict of the Orders •  Rome wanted to expand their territory

- Italian Peninsula and beyond •  Roman citizens fought over civil rights and government

representation - Conflict of the Orders

•  Between Patricians (Aristocrats) and Plebeians (Commoners)

Patricians •  Horsemen that liked warring; calvary was their basic fighting unit

-Helped them maintain leadership over other Romans •  Infantrymen (Heavily armored commoners) encouraged democracy •  Increased self-confidence of commoner soldiers (small farmers)

-Conflict between Patricians and Plebeians -Debt slavery

•  Almost always chosen as Consuls •  They choose tribunes

Plebeians Protected the tribunes They wanted laws to apply to them and patricians equally, so the judiciary

branch of government was created. They demanded that the laws be written down (known as the Twelve Tables)

Consuls Consuls served as commanders-in-chief of the military.There were two of them and they mostly consisted of patricians.They had the power to execute anyone who they felt was a slacker. The consuls could even promote any one to senate within the government. One other thing they could decide to have an emergency power and become a tyrant for six months.

Dictator - A ruler with total power over a country. Consuls decided who would be raised to a higher position in the

Senate and who could become declare emergency, which gives them emergency absolute rule as dictator for up to 6 months if in an emergency.

Julius Caesar was a Roman dictator

Tribunes An official chosen by the Plebeians to protect their interests. They

could be either commoners or aristocrats. They were also well protected and had great power from the Plebeians.

•  Romes military power increased o  Farmer-soldiers were encouraged by the increase

Veto To cancel The two consuls were able to veto each others decisions.

Assembly of the plebeians An assembly of commoners was initiated in 471 BCE as another step towards democracy. Democracy expanded by allowed plebeians to elect certain officials, try criminal cases (that involved plebeians), and pass legislation.

Censor Was created to relieve the consuls of the duty of taking the census (an official count of the population). It was needed to collect taxes and organize military duties. There were two censors.

Executive Included the consuls They had the power to put plans, actions, and/or laws into effect.

Legislative Included the Assemblies and the Senate They had the power to make laws.

Judiciary The Judiciary branch was created because the Plebeians wanted

laws to apply to them and Patricians equally. Praetors were in charge of the Judiciary.

Twelve Tables The Twelve Tablets are laws written on twelve bronze tablets to avoid arbitrary decisions concerning the law. Punishments for breaking these laws were harsh.

- Convicted of slander = clubbed to death - Thief = flogged (beat with a whip or stick) with the exception if he was a slave. If he was, he would be thrown off of Tarpeian Rock.

Cursus Honorum The Cursus Honorum was the way a Roman can progress through politics. It was similar to a hierarchy.