The Republic
The Romans established a new type of government- a republic- that has been copied by countries for centuries. It all started in 509 BCE. The Etruscans ruled over Rome for hundreds of years. In 509 BCE, Romans overthrew their Etruscan kings. Once free from outside rule, the Romans formed a Republic. A Republic is a representative government. This means that many people represent citizens rather than just one king. Citizens vote for representatives to make laws for them.
Citizenship
There were different levels of citizenship in the Roman Republic. The full citizen could vote, hold public office, trade, and marry other full citizens. Other citizens could vote and trade, but could not hold office. A third type of citizens were not allowed to vote or hold office, but they had other rights. The type of citizen a person was depended on their class, or how much wealth they had. Women and slaves were not considered citizens. However, slaves that were granted freedom could become citizens.
The Roman Senate
The Senate is as old as Rome itself. It was first created as a group of 100 men that advised the king. When the Estruscan kings were expelled from Rome, kings were done away with. The Senate was made up of 300 wealthy men. Two men were selected from the Senate to be the head of the government and lead the Senate. These two men were known as consuls. Consuls each only served for one year. The most important power of the consuls was to control the military. When a seat opened in Senate, the Consuls selected a new Senator. Senetors were not elected by the people.
The Senate met and passed laws. Senators (members of the Senate) practiced great speaking skills to convince other members of Senate to support their ideas. The Senate sent armies, negotiated peace, and had total control over financial matters of the Republic.
The Assembly
The Assembly was made up of the poor citizens of Rome, or the common people. The Assembly had limited power. It could vote for or suggest laws, but the Senate did not have to pass those laws. The Assembly did, however, posess one very important power. The Assembly elected- or voted for- the two consuls.
Society of the Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was made up of different classes, or levels, of people. In Roman society, the upper class, or wealthy people, were called patricians . They dominated Roman society. Patricians were the citizens that could vote and hold office. They made up the Senate and held the office of consul.
People in the lower-class, or poor class, were called plebeians . They had no say in the government. Although they made up the Assembly, the Senate could override them. Tradition required that patricians and plebeians had to remain seperate. Marriage between the two classes was not allowed.
As time went on in the Republic, plebeians gained more rights. The marriage law was done away with and plebeians could vote and participate in government. Eventually, one of the two consuls was a plebeian.