Question

discuss how the economic and political differences between the patricians and the plebeian classes ultimately led to a plebeian revolt. Include in your discussion the results of the first revolt or secession.

needs to be at least 500 words long with proper formatting and use of APA standards for citation. The paper should also include an introduction, body and conclusion.

Answer 1

Build-Up To Plebeian Revolt The Plebeians were the regular citizens of ancient Rome. At first, Plebeians were not permitted in the Senate nor were they permitted to hold any public office outside of the military and until 445 B.C. no Plebeian was allowed to marry a patrician. Overall the plebeians were less wealthy than the patricians, but that is not to say that all plebeians were poor, in fact, there were many wealthy plebeians. The plebeians were essentially all of the people of Rome that were not patricians. Typically plebeians were poor farmers or poor artisans ..

The Patrician class was a privileged, more wealthy class. Patrician families could trace their lineage back to the original clans of the area which fed into their feelings of entitlement after the Estrucan King was overthrown. Being a patrician was solely based on your blood and ancient Rome developed gentes or clans that were compromised of the most powerful families in Rome..

The plebeians and the patricians worked together to overthrow the Estrucan King, united under a common goal. Unfortunately, for the plebeians, this did not benefit them as they had hoped. The patricians took control over the government and created a “republic”, but in truth the government they established after overthrowing the Estrucan king was more along the lines of a tyranny, perhaps a tyrannical oligarchy. The patricians were an entitled group that considered their class in ancient Rome better suited to rule. Now, under the rule of the patricians, the plebeians had many people ruling over them. It is possible the plebeians actually were worse off under the patricians than they had been under kings. Under the rule of the patricians, the plebeians suffered an excess of poverty, occasional famines and no political power to even attempt to bring themselves out of this abject poverty. The newly established Roman Republic was in constant war. Their success in wars caused an influx of wealth in Rome in the early years of the republic, which can be seen by the temples built at the time. The military was also a good example of the large difference between the patricians and the plebeians. The plebeians made up the hoplite force of the Roman military while the patricians made up the calvary.. To solve the plebeian dilemma of no political control, the plebeians set up their own government to rule themselves and secede from the patricians. This was called the Struggle of the Orders. The Struggle of the Orders lasted between the fifth and third centuries B.C. It developed and grew over time. The plebeians would essentially protest the patrician’s controlling oligarchy by making demands and leaving Rome until the patricians would compromise. This caused a bit of a dilemma for the patricians as the patricians, the ruling class, relied on the labor of the plebeians for their military

All in all, the greed and entitlement of the patrician class is what led to the plebeian revolt. The patricians would have been able to avoid the revolt incredibly simply by just treating the plebeians with some respect, by allowing them to keep their lands and giving them even an ounce of power politically