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How Democratic Was The Roman Republic Dbq

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The Roman Republic lasted from 509 B.C.E to 27 B.C.E. The Roman Republic was democratic, but not always. Such as when the wealthy took over, it was more difficult to become a Roman citizen, and there was a lot of division in the society. However it was still democratic because they let the majority of legal men vote, even the free slaves later on, the people had a voice, and everyone mainly had a job to do in order to help the community. The Roman Republic tried to be democratic, but then it led to it just being an aristocracy. At first they were democratic, “It is the people in the Assemblie who grant office to those that deserve it through the elections…and most important of all it is that they make the final decision on the question of …show more content…

Free slaves could also vote.” (Document B) Even though it was only the male citizens that could vote, it still made big changes for Rome. Also during that time women were taking care of the kids, and not having an education or job. So it makes sense for only men to vote back then, it was more fair that they let free slaves vote because technically that made them citizens. Relating to this,“slavery allowed many of the wealthy citizens to participate in the politics of running the empire. 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 …show more content…

At this time it didn't matter about the division in society, “Even the poorest of Roman citizens, the proletarii, were still represented.” They used to not look down on the poor, but they used them to become a stronger and more productive community. Although they were fairly democratic in the beginning, whenever they expanded, it slowly began to change. “Once Roman territory had expanded…it was mostly the well-to-do rural voter and their clients who could afford the time and expense to come to Rome.” (Document C) 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. “Controlled by the wealthiest

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