Roman Government

Government under the Roman Republic

The democratic Roman system of government called the Republic worked for almost 500 years.  The system was designed to avoid absolute power in any one person or institution. Many of the terms and systems used by the Roman republic live on in our government and the governments of other countries.

A lot of the power in the republic was held by the Senate.  The senate passed all laws and collected all taxes.  All members of the Senate were of the Patrician or wealthy landowner class and they held the post for life.

At the head of the senate were two consuls.  The Consuls controlled the legions/military of Rome.  The Consuls also selected the new members of the Senate if a senator died.  To become a consul, you had to be elected by a majority of a special assembly that included all Roman citizens, but favoured the rich and powerful. 

There was a second part of Roman government, the People's/Plebeian Assembly.  The assembly was elected by Romans from the plebeian class.  The Assembly had less power than the Senate and Consuls run by the Patricians, but the people's assembly  had the power of most of the citizens behind them.

Structure of Government Under the Republic

2 Consuls Head of Government	Senate (300 members)	Plebeian Assembly
PATRICIANS	PATRICIANS	PLEBEIANS
1 year term	Life term
Consuls chose new Senators	Nominated the 2 consuls	Helped elect the 2 Consuls
Followed the advice from the Senate	Advised the consuls. Advised the Assembly.	Elected some government officials
Directed (commanded) the army	Directed spending, collected taxes
Acted as judges	Approved or disapproved laws made by the Assembly	Voted on laws suggested by government officials
In an emergency, consuls could choose a dictator as a single ruler to make quick decisions.	Made treatys/decisions  with foreign powers	Declared war or peace
Both consuls had to agree on their decisions. Each had the power to Veto the other. In Latin, veto means to forbid.

SPQR

Information mainly taken from https://rome.mrdonn.org/senate.html

After Ceasar took power to become an Emperor, Rome became an empire which also lasted for about 500 years. 

In your groups, use the supplied paper to graphically represent the power structure in the Republic of Rome. Be sure to include in your graphic representations

Children

Slaves

Women

Foreigners living in Rome

Plebians

Patricians

Senators

Consuls