Roman Government

    Rome was originally inhabited by a group of people called the Etruscans, who were ruled by a king. fter years of being ordered, the people over threw the monarchy and created a Republic.  A Republic is when the power of the government rest upon the people.  Rome used a system of checks and balances,  or seperations in the goverment.  In the chart below, you can see how different Roman government was from Amercian government today.

                                                            USA                                                    ROME
Execttutive Branch:           President                                             Two consuls     
Legislative Branch:            Congress                                               Senate
Judicial Branch:                    Supreme Court                                The Assembly

    There were two classes to the Romans.  Unfortunatley, the Roman Democracy was a case of Rich vs. Poor.  You were either a Patrician or a Plebian. Patricians, or the upper class, wre able to get more involved in the government than the Plebians were.  Patricians could pass laws, and control how the government spent its money. Plebians, or the lower class, could only reject or approve these laws or decide whether or not they wanted to go to war. These are only a few of the inequalties of Rome. Another example is where the different classes could live. 

The Rise And Fall Of An Empire

        The first and second Triumvirate, which is almost an oligarchy, brought on strong military leaders who took over the government.  The Roman Empire was the size of the US, includeing 50 million people. With this many people, it was hard to communicate with all the government leaders.   Because many people wanted