Ancient Roman Social Classes

Roman social classes, among Roman citizens, consisted of the plebeians and patriarchs. In the early republic, the patrician class was made up of Roman aristocracy and was hereditary in nature. They controlled matters of law, politics, and the military by monopolizing the knowledge of the law and legal procedures. This essential prevented the lower classed plebeians from being able to represent themselves in legal proceedings or to have proper representation in politics. Early Roman society was essentially a system of the “haves and the have nots”, with the patrician’s having the “lion’s share” of the power and benefits. In early Roman society, the plebeians were free citizens, that were “commoners” who had limited political representation

During this conflict the plebeians, utilized the fact that their sheer numbers sustained the army as well as the day to day activities essential to Rome, sought to strengthen their standing in legal matters and politics. The plebeians began achieving successful outcomes, from the “Struggle of the Orders”, because the patriarchs were aware that without the plebeians Rome had no army and without an army the patricians would be at the mercy of Rome’s many enemies. A key concession the plebeians obtained was that they were granted the right to elect their own officials, that could bring plebeian grievances to the senate. Another key concession was that plebeians were able to pressure patricians into creating a written copy of Roman laws, thereby affording plebeians a better ability to defend themselves criminally and civilly. Patrician concessions continued over time, to the point of allowing plebeians to marry patricians and even allowing plebeians to be elected to the senate. It was not until 287 B.C.E. though, when the passage of the lex Hortensia resolution allowed the plebeian assembly the force of law applicable to all Romans, that the “Struggle of the Orders” came to an