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Government under the Roman
Republic
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Under the Republic, two (2) elected consuls shared the head of government. Consuls were members of the Senate, who had been elected to serve for a one year term in the position of Consul, the highest position in government under the Republic. The consuls most important power was that they controlled the army.The Senate was composed of leaders from the patricians, the noble and wealthy families of ancient Rome. They were the law makers. They controlled spending. Members of the Senate were not elected. They were chosen by the Consuls. Once chosen, they served for life. There were 300 seats in the Senate. When a seat opened, a new Senator was selected by the current Consuls.
The Assembly was composed of all the plebeian citizens of Rome, the common man. The Assembly did not have a building. It was the right of the common man to assemble in the Forum and vote.
In the beginning, the Assembly had very limited power. They could vote for or suggest laws, but the Senate could block their decisions. The Assembly could vote to declare war, but again, the Senate could override them.
However, the Assembly had one power that was very impressive - it was the Assembly who voted each year on which two members of the Senate would serve as Consuls. As a noble, if you wanted to rise to the level of Consul, the highest position in government under the Republic, you needed to gain the support of the plebeian class. Since it was the Consuls who filled empty seats in the Senate, if the Assembly chose their Consuls well, they could slowly gain power in government by putting people in charge who were sympathetic to their needs.
Some members of the Assembly became quite powerful in government in their own right. Some tradesmen were very wealthy. There is an old expression - money talks - which means the rich seem to be heard more easily than the poor.
In ancient Rome, certainly money talked, but so did those who had the power of speech. The Romans loved a great orator. When the Assembly met, down at the Forum, many speeches were going on at the same time. One speaker might say, "Rome's roads need repair!" Another speaker might say, "We need to stop crime in the streets." If you wanted your speech to have an impact, it did not matter how rich or poor you were. What mattered was how persuasive you were as a speaker.
Structure of Government Under the Republic
2 Consuls |
Senate (300 members) |
Assembly |
PATRICIANS |
PATRICIANS |
PLEBEIANS |
1 year term |
Life term |
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Consuls chose the
Senators |
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Elected the 2
Consuls |
Ran the government,
overseeing the work of other government officials. |
Advised the consuls.
Advised the Assembly. |
Elected government
officials including judges.
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Directed (commanded)
the army |
Directed spending,
including tax dollars
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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 – a single ruler to make quick decisions.
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Made decisions concerning
relationships 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 “I forbid.” |
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More Details on Assignment of Duties
Under the Late Republic (as Plebeians slowly gained power)
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