How We Relate to the Complex Ancient Roman Republican Government
             Rome was built on the famous seven hills overlooking the Tiber River, midway down the Italian peninsula and about fifteen miles from the western coast. Rome became an independent state about 500 B.C. By the time of the collapse of the Roman Empire (about 476 A.D., almost 1000 years after its creation), it had acquired enough land to constitute the majority of the European continent. The main reason for the strength and longevity of the Roman Empire was the Roman government. The Roman government was well constructed with an elaborate system of checks and balances. This type of construction allowed the Roman government to effectively govern its people and control its strong military. The Roman republican government was very successful and was also the foundation for the modern western governmental bodies.
             Most political scientists refer to the Roman republic as an oligarchic republic (where the people are dominated by the leadership), based on the division of the population into two classes, the patricians and the plebeians. The aristocracy of well-to-do families formed the class of patricians (from the Latin word "patres" meaning
             "fathers"); they alone were full citizens (Brinton, Christopher, and Wolff 96). Membership in the patrician class was limited to propertied families already well established in the Etruscan era.
             The inferior class of plebeians (from the Latin word "plebs" meaning "the multitude") comprised about ninety per cent of the Roman population (Brinton, Christopher, and Wolff 97). Merchants, laborers, small farmers, and the large group of
             debtors (created by the economic upheaval following the expulsion of the Etruscans) were all plebeians. The plebeians were denied full political rights, particularly access to high ...