Patricians Vs Plebeians Essay

The two classes of Roman citizen, the Patricians and the Plebeians, put aside their differences and untied to rid Rome of its monarchy and establish a republic. Unfortunately for the Plebeians this republic was not to be a democratic one, as we saw in our studies of Greece, but an aristocratic one that placed them in a position of great disadvantage and would cause them to rise up against the Patricians to fight for a more just economic and political position.
Although the Plebeians did their fair share in ridding Rome of the Kings and establishing the new republic, they shared in very few of the fruits of their labors. Under the new republic, the Plebeians could vote in the general assembly (the comitia centuriata), but they were not able to hold any office or to vote in the senate. This gave them very little say in the political matters of the new republic. The Plebeians might have even gone along with the Patrician rule if it had been more fair and benign and not so self-serving.
First was the economic division between the classes. The Patricians were wealthy and lived primarily in the city and their property was safe behind the well defended city walls. The Plebeians, many of whom served in the army, were primarily poor country dwellers. While they were off fighting for Rome their farms and homes

suffered neglect and destruction from enemy invaders. This placed them in a state of constant poverty, unable to earn a living for themselves. Their only option was to borrow money from the Patricians making them mostly a debtor class. Debt laws were harsh at the time and any Plebeian who could not repay his debt was likely to find himself in prison or a slave to his creditor. The Plebeians were also not entitled to a fair share of public land. The lands which Rome gained as spoils of war were firmly in the hands of the Patricians, and used for their own gain and not the betterment of the people.
Second was the political division between the classes.

As I mentioned above, the Plebeians were able to vote in the general assembly, but not able to vote in the senate or to hold any sort of political office. This gave them little to no say in the politics of the new republic. They were basically subject to the decisions of the Patricians who were proving to be not much better than the kings. The Plebeians decided that revolt was their only recourse and the armies abandoned their generals and marched to the sacred mount in protest. Realizing that they could not defend Rome without the Plebeian army, the Patricians were forced to make several

concessions.
On the political front, the Patricians created the new offices of Tribune of the People. These offices were to be held by two members of the Plebeian class and were able to veto and laws made by the magistrate that were deemed unjust to all people. These Tribunes were also immune to being arrested or having their official duties interfered with. In addition, the Plebeian assembly (concilium Plebis) was made permanent and given the power to make resolutions that were binding to the Plebeians, but not yet all people. Eventually the Plebeians were able to elect their own tribunes as well.
On the economic front, an attempt was made by the great statesman and patriot Spurius Cassius to remedy the unfair distribution of land through his Agrarian Law proposal. The purpose of said law was not to take away land that was privately owned by the Patricians, but to more fairly distribute the public