So-Called Struggle Conflict of The Orders Discussion

So-Called Struggle Conflict of The Orders Discussion

I need an original post that is at least 200 words responding to Part A. Then I need three student responses to post, at least 100 words, that can be found in Part B. Please respond to student response like you are talking to them directly. Do not say “ I agree with this student….this student’s use of …..etc…” Chicago Style Format

PART A

Please read the course materials for week three and then participate in this discussion.

The so-called “Struggle (Conflict) of the Orders” stretched over several centuries of the history of the Roman Republic. In some senses, it was never really resolved and certainly had a role to play in the demise of the Republic. In this week’s discussion, explain what the “Struggle of the Orders” means. What were the key issues that defined it, and what steps were taken in the early Republic to resolve it? To what extent were these steps successful? In what ways were these steps inadequate or unsuccessful? Were there fundamental flaws in the Roman constitution?

PART B

1

“The so-called “Struggle (Conflict) of the Orders” stretched over several centuries of the history of the Roman Republic. In some senses, it was never really resolved and certainly had a role to play in the demise of the Republic. In this week’s discussion, explain what the “Struggle of the Orders” means. What were the key issues that defined it, and what steps were taken in the early Republic to resolve it? To what extent were these steps successful? In what ways were these steps inadequate or unsuccessful? Were there fundamental flaws in the Roman constitution?

The “Struggle of the Orders” was a conflict of classes between the Patrician’s and Plebeian’s of the ancient Roman Empire. Patricians were essentially the noble elite class that before the revolt were the only class allowed to hold political office. The Plebeians were the lower larger class of your average person. The initial spark started on the Aventine Hill in Rome where Plebeian soldiers had left the war in order to strike and threaten secession out disdain for their lack of equality in rights next to the Patrician’s. As a result of this the Plebeians were allowed to elect their own Tribunes and Plebeian aediles. Basically, overall the Struggle of the Orders was a revolt of the lower common class towards the elites out of a lack of representation and equality in rights. I would say that the largest key issue of it was the debt enslavement of the Plebeians. During this time a war was still going on and many farmers lost their lands due to military service and had to borrow money from the rich in order to survive. The result was that the poor stayed poor and delved deeper into poverty with sometimes having to literally sell themselves into slavery in order to pay back the lender. Another secession came and only reunified after the Republics birth which offered Plebeians the right to run for public office. I would say all of this was very successful since it resulted in what the Plebeians desired, and personally look at this as a wonderful example of a downtrodden people fighting for their right to simply be people and winning. The greatest achievement though was being allowed to run for political office, which in my opinion is the defining moment of winning their equality. I don’t know if I could necessarily pick out some steps that were inadequate since the outcome was accomplished, but overall I would say it is very unproductive that it took a total of 200 years to get there. Fundamentally I think there can be no perfect law but the 12 tables was a major victory for the Plebeians since it was “stated in stone” for lack of a better term. The Roman constitution allowed for the proper treatment of both Plebeian and Patrician since in the eyes of the land, both were no longer their respective class but essentially “Roman”.”

2

“The “Struggle (Conflict) of the Orders” was an event in history that occurred from 494 BC to 287 BC. An important element in the government of the republic was that representatives were elected to rule, however, only the patricians (upper class) were permitted to hold higher office. This would lead to turmoil.

In the beginning of the Republic, the plebeians and the patricians had worked together to drive out the kings. Yet, the only class permitted to hold a government or elected office were those from the patrician class. The wars had left the plebeians in deplorable living conditions. Their farms, located outside of the city walls, had not been protected and had gone unattended, leaving the lower class in even more anguish. This put them in a situation of needing to borrow money from the patricians, and created a debtor class. But if the debts could not be paid back, the debtor was liable to be arrested or thrown into slavery. Moreover, the land that had been seized during the war technically belonged to all of the people, but since the government was ran by the patricians, the land was dispersed to their benefit. These conundrums led the plebeians to revolt. In the middle of a war, they walked away from the army, marched to Anio and proposed the creation of an independent city. They demanded the right to elect their own representatives.

The patricians quickly realized that they were at a loss without the plebeian army, and they conceded. The plebeians would now have representation and veto power in the assemblies. They also allowed the plebeians to create an office of plebeian aedile. Which could only be plebeian people and they were allowed to pass laws that only pertained to the plebeian class.

A complaint that the plebeians had was that there were no written laws, and the patricians were the only ones that knew the laws, and they could administer the laws as they saw fit. A plebeian tribune by the name of Gaius Terentilius Harsa petitioned for the creation of the XII Tablets. This request was opposed by the patricians and took years to get settled. The bronze tablets clearly listed the laws and rights of the citizens.

The patricians began making concessions to the plebeians in a hope of appeasing the plebeians and restoring their city to peace. They increased the number of tribunes from two to ten, decided to give up some of the land on Aventine Hill, and set a maximum fine that a magistrate could impose to two sheep and thirty oxen.

Finally, a compromise was made. The proposal made by Gaius Terentilius Harsa for the written law was approved. The compromise was that ten men, called decemvirs, would write up the laws, and this law would be binding by both, the patricians and the plebeians. During the time that the tablets were drawn up, all quarreling would cease. The plebeians had gained ground in regards to their rights, in that they could now hold property, vote, carry on trade, and intermarry with a patrician.”

3

“How I would describe the “Conflict of Orders” would be that it was a two-tiered caste system. I can see how this would lead to a big power struggle. There is no way that a system set up on the haves and have nots/us vs. them could ever work. It just seems to me that you should be able to see the unending conflict from a mile away. Then I started to think about how this is still happening. In America even, we just recently had our civil rights movement and I believe the Plebs were basically going through a similar situation.

The steps to resolve this issue started with the Plebs starting their own assembly. It seems that this would be a divided two state Rome, but due to sheer numbers, it seems that the Patricians needed the Plebs and this led to future concessions. “