Citizenship is a status given by a government to some or all of its people. Being a citizen means not only meeting certain responsibilities, but also enjoying certain rights. In the U.S. today, many of our governmental institutions are based on concepts of the Ancient World. Citizenship in the United States resembles the concepts of citizenship in both Ancient Athens and Ancient Rome. Ancient Athens believed that participating in government and making the city-state work was a part of being a good citizen. The only people who were thought to be qualified for citizenship were free, native-born adult males. The male children of citizens could be granted citizenship after completing their education and two years of military training (Doc …show more content…
Rome granted citizenship more freely than Athens. Citizenship was granted to free, native-born adult males and females as well as their children and the sons of freed slaves (doc A). Although many people were granted citizenship, not all were given equal rights. For example, foreigners in conquered lands could be given “full or partial citizenship”, and citizens of states with treaty obligations were given “limited rights in return for performing military service” (Doc C). The government in Rome was divided into three different branches: the Consul, the Senate and the Assembly (Doc F). Every five years a census of the Roman population would be conducted. During this census, citizens were ranked based on “wealth, heritage [family standing], administrative competence, marital status, and physical and moral fitness.” If a citizen did not meet these standards then they would be “demoted in rank,” and if the citizen was a senator then they would lose their seat in the Senate (Doc D). Like in Rome, citizenship in America is more freely given. America grants citizenship to anyone as long as they meet certain criteria such as living in the country for five years and having no prison record. American government is also split into three different branches: executive, judicial, and legislative. Although America does not use a census to demote citizens’ of their rank, they can revoke their right to vote or remove a government official from office. Traces of Roman citizenship are visible in modern American
The Roman Republic's system allowed every adult male citizen including free slaves to have a vote without any formal exclusion of the poor. Voting took place within subgroups known as Tribal or Century Assemblies where the majority vote won. The power of the citizen as a voter was divided into three categories: acting as criminal courts and participating in elections conducted by the Century or Tribal Assemblies and legislating. Only a limited group of elected annual magistrates could propose laws before the people in the assemblies. The Tribal Assembly served as the primary assembly for the passage of laws.
The citizens would elect Praetors, these were judges that ruled in the judicial branch and would be voted for each year(AR). Usually only the wealthy Praetors would be elected leaving out the middle and lower class citizens of Rome(AR).Today in The U.S., people can vote on issues that are addressed within America and are also able to vote on who is elected as the president no matter what financial state they are in. In Rome, the lower class citizens also known as the plebeians, were forced into the army and were furious at the fact that
Slaves served a variety of functions. They are farmers, miners, domestic servants, entertainers and even teachers…unlike slaves of Greece, a Roman slave lived in a unique society: he could earn or buy his freedom…and enjoy the benefits of citizenship, gaining wealth and power.” This pushed the Roman Republic's democracy farther and made it more open to anyone. However, “The most fundamental of all rights of the people was, however, the fact that they, and they
Citizenship -- what is it? Discrimination is defined as the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people (i.e. sex, race, skin color, religious belief, etc.). The 5th and 14th Amendments of our Constitution make it clear that this is wrong and punishable yet, in Article 2 Section 1, millions of Americans are discriminated against for their birth country. This section of the Constitution states that “the President must have been born a
Around 500-600 BC, an Athenian man named Solon thought up and introduced various democratic ideas to his city-state of Athens. The ideas proposed by Solon, and many others such as Pericles and Cleisthenes, evolved over time into laws that many countries, including America use today. One of the ideas that Solon proposed was to allow all free, non- foreign males to be granted citizenship and be able to vote for laws and who would run the government. This idea grew and grew and now in America everyone born in the U.S. and others who have applied have citizenship. Along with the right to vote, the free, non-
Document C gives examples of how the Romans' citizenship was granted in these "measured amounts". One example was how the Foederati, or people of states with treaty obligations with Rome, were given limited rights for serving in the military. 4a. Unlike in Athens, citizens' rights would not have reduced the level of organization during political events. 4b.
The three different branches all keep the others from gaining too much power of the states through what is known as a series of checks and balances. The United States governmental policies can go into incredible detail due to the unknown number of tweaks made to this evolving form of government. What is most important about the United States governmental system, is that it is a democracy at its roots. Obviously there will be differences between this democracy and the Athenian’s view on democracy and politics, yet the base concept is still there: the people, the lower, middle, and upper class, all have the ability to make a change in what they stand for. The average citizen can place their vote for or against ideas that support or oppose their opinions, or they can attempt to run for office and create change.
Although one of their best ideas was known as the type of government they established what is now known as the republic, and since then it has been copied by other places, the united states uses and has similarity to roman republic. The U.S government is based partly on the model of Rome’s. the parts and similarity’s that we still use today are things like citizenship, legal code, legislative branch /senate, and others. The republic all started when the romans finally overthrew the Etruscan conquerors they had around (509 B.C.E) once they were free the romans came up or established the republic, a government were the citizens picked a representative to rule on their behalf. The concept of Citizenship in Rome was that males of ages 15 or older, that came from original tribes or places of Rome became citizens.
Dhingra and Rodriguez discuss citizenship in this week’s reading, specifically about US citizenship. To they, US citizenship “defines people as politically equal … it downplays other inequalities that should not be ignored.” I appreciate the part where the authors break down the legal citizenship, because I feel that most American citizens underestimate how hard it is to get a US legal citizenship since they never have to worry about it. “US affirms heteronormative family and corporate interests though its immigration policies.” Citizenship was used to define whiteness and alienate people who do not fit the mold.
Citizenship in Athens & Rome: Which Was a Better System? The Romans left a powerful legacy that impacts our modern-day society. It was founded in 753 BC around the center of the Italian peninsula. They took up 15% of the world’s population by conquering territories in western Asia, southern Europe, and northern Africa.
Democracy is commonly known to be present in the government of Athens. Athenian democracy and democracy in the United States are both similar and different in certain ways. Democracy in the United States still contains basic principalities of Athenian democracy, such as participation status, elections, and government power, although, some parts were changed and improved. The United States has a representative democracy; in which it is a republic.
No Roman citizens could be sentenced to die on the cross. Roman women could not engage in any important business decisions without the agreement of their parents, husbands, or guardians. Any Roman citizen had an absolute power over their slaves; and no Roman citizen could legally be held as slaves. According to the book The Romans- From Village to
Through various assemblies, such as the Centuriate Assembly and the Tribal Assembly, citizens were able to vote on legislation, elect magistrates, and engage in public debates (Cavenaile 67). Notably, the right to participate in politics was not limited to a privileged few. Historian Mary Beard emphasizes that "the Roman Republic significantly expanded the number of citizens who could enjoy political rights, resulting in a highly engaged citizen body" (Beard
Passports Passports have been utilized to move throughout different countries for centuries. In 1918, Congress adopted the Passport Control Act to help and provide security to the United States. The Passport Control Act states that no one should leave or enter the United States without a passport or a permit from the Department of State or receiving authorization by an American consul (Szajkoski, ). The passport is said to have “derived from a medieval document required to pass through the gate of a city wall” (Alton & Struble,).
Citizenship is something that allows you to obtain certain documentation that tells others what country you reside or are active in and attain freedoms that others may not have. When you are a citizen, you have the ability to vote and be a part of the community within it. One becomes a citizen through blood, birthright, religion, or naturalization. While in theory, citizenship sounds straightforward, there are issues with what it means to be a citizen and who can be considered one. Looking at citizenship, we should look at how it has progressed and who was affected by the progression.