The Gracchian Revolution

Paper Summary:

This essay argues the thesis that the political events which occurred in the course of the "Gracchian Revolution" played a pivotal role in the eventual demise of the Republic. Furthermore, the Roman political system changed following Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (163 BC-132 BC) & Gaius Gracchus (154 BC-121 BC) deaths with the emergence of more powerful re-elected magistrates, consuls and tribunes. At the same time, the Senate's invoking of the Senatus consultum ultimum (SCU) during this era led to the threat of violence becoming interwoven in Roman politics. This combination of more powerful magistrates and senatorial extremism was to ultimately lead to the end of the Roman Republic itself.

From the Paper:

"Gaius restored the land commission, and began an extensive road building project, which not only provided work for many local land owners, but allowed for improved attendance at assembly meetings by the rural communitites. Gaius also passed legislation to stabilize grain prices, encourage colonization, and improve the rights of soldiers. In addition, Gaius took steps to drive a wedge between the rich equestrian class and the senatorial class. The historian Sheldon notes that equestrians exerted considerable influence on the politics of Rome, and even the Senate were reluctant to offend them. As a result, Gaius introduced legislation which changed the tax collection system to favour wealthy equestrians. This wedge was expanded with the transferral of jury duty responsibilities from senators to equestrians for cases involving the extortion of governors; cases that were notorious for acquitals by senatorial juries of their patrician defendants. This division between equistrians and senators appears to have been quite deep and lasted many years, as shown in the later writings by Cicero such as his Letters to Atticus."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Columbia Encyclopedia Sixth Edition. Columbia University Press, 2001.
• Heichelheim, Fritz, Ward, Allen, and Yeo, Cedric. A History of the
• Roman People Fourth Edition. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2003.
• Shelton, Jo-Ann. As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History
• Second Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

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