When the plebeians demanded an assembly, what did the Senate do to satisfy their demands and how did it turn out for Rome? Can you please help me?????
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Roman_Republic
Of course! During ancient Rome, the plebeians were the common people who did not belong to the aristocracy. They often faced social and economic challenges. In response to their demands for an assembly where they could voice their concerns and have their grievances addressed, the Senate took several actions to satisfy them.
Firstly, the Senate created the Assembly of the Plebeians, also known as the Plebeian Assembly or the Concilium Plebis. This assembly was composed of plebeian citizens and had its own elected officials, known as tribunes. Through the tribunes, the plebeians gained a political voice and representation.
Secondly, the Senate granted the Plebeian Assembly the power to pass laws (known as plebiscites) that applied to the entire Roman population, including both plebeians and patricians (members of the aristocracy). Initially, these laws were legally binding only on plebeians, but later they were extended to patricians as well.
Furthermore, the tribunes were given the authority to veto any action by a magistrate or senator that they deemed unfavorable to the plebeians. This veto power enabled the tribunes to protect the interests of the plebeians and prevent potential abuses of power.
The establishment of the Plebeian Assembly and the tribunes' rights marked a significant shift in Roman political power, as it granted the plebeians a direct role in decision-making and a check on the authority of the Senate and other officials. It helped alleviate some of the social tensions and inequalities that existed in Rome.
Overall, this historic development had mixed results for Rome. On one hand, it brought about greater inclusivity in the political system and reduced some of the social disparities between the plebeians and the patricians. On the other hand, it also created internal divisions between the two classes, leading to periods of political turmoil and instability.
So, to summarize, the Senate satisfied the plebeians' demand for an assembly by establishing the Plebeian Assembly, granting it legislative powers, and empowering the tribunes to protect the interests of the plebeians. This move had both positive and negative consequences for Rome.
Strength through Compromise
The Romans were Indo-Europeans believed to have migrated southward across the Alps to the warmer climate and rich lands of on the Italian peninsula. They settled among the hills that are now a part of Rome
In 509 BCE, a group of Roman nobles drove the Etruscan king, Tarquin, from power. Without a king, Rome had become a republic. Power passed to Rome's aristocratic council of elders, the Senate.
Rome was on its way to becoming a great power, but first there was challenge. In freeing themselves from Etruscan rule, the Romans lost trade with the Etruscans and with Greek colonies in southern Italy. What little there had been in imports ended. Rome's merchants and craftsmen suffered, and Rome experienced economic depression and grain shortages.
Rome was challenged also by fellow Latin neighbors. While under Etruscan rule, Rome had been the greatest power among the Latins, and Rome had been resented by the other Latins. Also freed from Etruscan rule, these other Latins warred against Rome over disputed lands and to free themselves from Rome's hegemony. Rome avoided the vanity that in future millennia was to plague some great powers. Rather than put vanity first, Rome abandoned its claim of hegemony in Latium. Rather than gripped by paranoaic fear of weakness, the Romans saw advantage in peace and cooperation. In 493, Rome joined an alliance with its Latin neighbors as an equal.
The alliance treaty held that business contracts between people from different states within the alliance were to be bound by law. And the treaty held that in wars against outsiders, alliance members were to share in commanding armies and in the spoils of war.
The alliance strengthened Rome in the wars that soon followed. The Etruscans began an attempt to impose again their rule on the Romans and other Latins. And there were periodic wars across decades against mountain people to the south and central Italy who were increasing in population and attempting to expand.
Another problem for Rome was conflict between its aristocrat rulers and commoners. Rome's aristocrats liked warring. They were horsemen, and cavalry was their basic fighting unit. Wars gave them prestige and helped them to maintain their claim of leadership over the other Romans. But a development in the art of war was denying the aristocrats their exclusive right to prestige. The Greeks, Etruscans and now the Romans were using heavily armed infantrymen – men who were commoners. The increased importance of the common man in combat had encouraged democracy in Athens, and now it was increasing the self-confidence of Rome's commoner-soldiers, who were also small farmers.
Economic distress exacerbated conflict between aristocrats (patricians) and commoners (plebeians). Involved in this conflict was the rise of debt slavery. When a small farmer was seized for non-payment of his debts, other commoners, mainly farmer-soldiers, might attempt to rescue him by force.
Rome's farmer-soldiers and farmer-veterans demanded a bigger share in the distribution of lands, and they demanded the abolition of veterans' debts. They advocated the creation of an assembly that spoke for their interests and the interests of all common people. They wanted common people to be able to elect men to preside over this assembly and to keep watch on the Senate and to have the power to veto Senate proposals. And they wanted a commoner elected as one of the Senate's two chief executives – its two consuls. They served as commanders-in-chief of the military, and this included the power to have soldiers esecuted for lack of discipline. The consuls also decided who would be promoted to positions of authority within the Senate and who could declare an emergency, giving themselves rule for six months. There were two consuls so as not to give too much power to one man. Each was able to veto a decision by the other.
A strike by plebeians was followed by patricians acknowledging that it was no longer as it had been in the days when aristocrats alone were the warriors. They were willing to compromise. Although the Senate did not give the plebeians exactly what they wanted, it did create military tribunes. The tribunes were to be elected by small farmers and by aristocrats, and the tribunes could be either commoners or aristocrats. The farmer-soldiers were encouraged by this increase in their participation in government. It gave them more of a sense that in war they were fighting for their own interests, and this enhanced their morale and strengthened Rome as a military power.