ipl-logo

How Democratic Was The Roman Republic Dbq

690 Words3 Pages

The Roman Republic was often known for its lasting influence for the development of Western political governance and ideals and is often hailed as a beacon of democracy in ancient history. But an in depth look reveals it to be more complex. While the Roman Republic held democratic elements that allowed citizen participation and representation, its political structure was ultimately characterized by a significant concentration of power among the elite and few for the average person. This essay will explore the extent of democracy within the Roman Republic, analyzing key aspects such as the electoral system, legislative bodies, and social hierarchy and the democratic nature and the implications it had on the overall governance of the state.
In document A according to the Greek historian Polybius he talks about the democratic system of governance in Rome. Polybius kept records during the extensive Roman expansion between 167 and 119 BCE held a great admiration for the Romans and highlighted their rise to global dominance. His …show more content…

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 exclusive right of the assemblies to pass legislation along with the inclusion of various citizens in the voting process, supports the characterization of the Roman Republic as a democracy in formal

Show More
Related

  • How Democratic Was The Roman Republic Dbq

    515 Words  | 3 Pages

    As stated by Polybius in Document A, The Assembly held most power when it came to voting. They had the final say during the passing or denying of laws, which was said by Millar (Document B). However, Millar also states that the Assemblies did not get to choose who or what they voted on. This could be used to support the idea that the Roman Republic truly was a republic. Regardless of that, the fact that the Assembly held so much power was still a reason to believe it was a democracy.

    Read More

  • How Did Polybius Show The Perceptiveness Of Rome's Mixed Government

    972 Words  | 4 Pages

    In this particular chapter, Polybius contributes how the Romans were able to rise to power was due to the system of government that was in place. He goes into in-depth analysis of the flaws each system of government had in the past, from kingship, aristocracy, and democracy, as well as pointing out their strong points. He stated that “For it is plain that we must regard as the best constitution that which partakes of all three elements (kingship, aristocracy, and democracy)” (Polybius, VI. 3). He concluded with the idea of a mixed government, where each part of the government will serve as a check of balance to one another.

    Read More

  • How Democratic Was The Roman Republic Dbq

    736 Words  | 3 Pages

    By this time, it took more effort to vote since people were coming from all over to vote. Rome started to add limits, “How easily a small number of urban residents registered in a rural tribe could determine the vote of that tribe is clear from the small percentage of citizens who actually voted.” (Document C) This shows how little the number of people voted that were actually Roman citizens. The Roman Republic started to become an aristocracy whenever a lot more of the wealthy people came into power.

    Read More

  • Roman Republic Checks And Balances

    815 Words  | 4 Pages

    Notwithstanding these democratic components, the Roman Republic's aristocracy-dominated governance made it ultimately undemocratic. The Senate, which was predominately made up of nobles, held the majority of the republic's power. This indicated that very few people actually influenced the decisions that the government made. (National Geographic Society,

    Read More

  • Roman Citizenship Dbq

    739 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Source A, Citizenship in the Roman Republic by USHistory.org, the text clearly states: “All males over the age of 15 who were descended from the original tribes of Rome became citizens.” This text proves the Roman laws of citizenship were not only non-democratic, but also ageist, sexist, racist, xenophobic, and bigoted. The law states that if you don't meet all the criteria for citizenship, you can't possibly be a citizen. In essence, this meant that you had no rights at all or little rights at all. This citizenship law does not ensure that all citizens have any rights or authority, which is a crucial element of what democratic citizenship entails.

    Read More

  • Rome's Democracy: Was Rome Truly Democratic?

    101 Words  | 1 Pages

    Was Rome truly democratic? They were kind of democratic, or at the least, they tried. After time, it turned into despotism by tyrants, which destroyed the meaning of demokratia. Rome didn’t do a great job expressing democracy, for an example, they allowed the majority of men to vote, but most of them we’re too busy or too poor to vote, which left only 2% of the men to vote. Women were not allowed to vote, although, if they created a petition to change that, it wouldn’t be a problem, but due to tyrants and rulers, they would just veto the

    Read More

  • Roman Democracy DBQ Essay

    431 Words  | 2 Pages

    (Document B) It is good that anybody can vote including the poor but they were limited with rights such as they counted people's votes in two different votings Century assembly and a Tribal assembly. The Century assembly was defined, “by wealth and the equipment they could provide for military duty. Voting started with the wealthier centuries, whose votes outweighed those of the poorer.” (Encyclopedia Britannica).

    Read More

  • Republic Vs Oligarchal Republic

    812 Words  | 4 Pages

    Republic is defined as "A government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law." (Republic., n.d.). Rome would elect its leaders from all of the groups of people, Patrician and Plebeian alike. The head of state was the consuls,

    Read More

  • How Democratic Was The Roman Republic

    791 Words  | 4 Pages

    The consuls were responsible for many of the functions kings of previous had, with the caveat that they had checks on their power, as there were two consuls rather than one, and they could be removed from their position if need be. Another aspect of the Roman republic that made it democratic was the existence of the Assembly of Tribes. These were officials voted for by the general population of Rome. They had the ability to vote on laws that would affect the population and had a vote on whether Rome would go to war or not (Democracy, 2021). Given the fact that Roman citizens had the right to vote on issues that affected everyday life could be seen as the most democratic aspect of the Roman republic, although there were some caveats on who had the right to vote.

    Read More

  • Roman Republic Checks And Balances

    594 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Senate, popular assemblies, and magistrates were all under the control of

    Read More

  • Roman Republic Essay

    473 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Roman populace had began to expect more political decisions as they had grown in importance to the Roman economy. In their drive for greater political way, plebeians, or common people also started to join them. The idea of fundamental component of democracy under the Roman Republic. According to this concept, the people, not a king or another member of the aristocracy, possessed the supreme power inside the state. Contrary to the autocratic control of the Etruscan monarchs, the Roman citizenry was free to choose their own leaders and enact their own laws.

    Read More

  • Athens Vs Sparta Dbq Essay

    1090 Words  | 5 Pages

    Also, Rome follows in Greece's footsteps. For example, Livy once said, “And no wonder: for if we confine our observation to the power of the Consuls we should be inclined to regard it as despotic; if on that of the Senate, as aristocratic; and if finally one looks at the power possessed by the people it would seem a clear case of democracy” (Doc. B). This shows that Rome follows in Greece’s footsteps because even though Rome was considered a democracy, in actuality, the senate acted as an aristocracy, because in both a small group of elites ruled. The councils acted as a despotism, because both have one or more elected officials, with great power.

    Read More

  • Compare The Romans Life For The Plebeians

    562 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine a world where the government was ruled by many people... What do you think the world would be like then? Well the world in the Roman republic was like this, as people called it a representative democracy. People elected representatives, to make main decisions. But the plebeians still had a say in what the government was like.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Ancient Greek And Roman Democracy

    1489 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Romans had a system of indirect democracy where the people had the power to vote for representatives who would advocate for them on the state level. The Greeks had a government in which the people directly were involved in the governmental and legislative process. In addition, both systems were flawed in their representation of their people in their respective governments through neglecting a large portion of their population. Both societies did well to create term lengths to decrease the likelihood of corruption and abuse of power through creating accountability. However, the Greek democracy was a caliber above its counterpart.

    Read More

  • Which Elements Of The Roman Republic Made It Democratic?

    627 Words  | 3 Pages

    Roman Constitution was made up of three elements this includes: The Consuls. It is the highest elected public official. They were primarily generals, and their task was to lead the armies to war;

    Read More

More about How Democratic Was The Roman Republic Dbq

Open Document