Norman Cousins Gentleman Involve Internet Research Responding

¶ … Norman Cousins gentleman involve internet research responding men's achievements I needing an essay assignment information presented Norman Cousins.

The Roman Republic, it can be said, acted at first as an aristocratical form of governance because it was only the upper class that was allowed to hold public office and that was administrating every decision making. Due to pressures coming from the plebeians who represented the lower-class, concessions were made throughout the years that allowed for the latter to have more influence. However, these liberties were somewhat limited. What's more, military force, which was unanimously supposed to have worked for the benefit of society, was disrupted by separated affinities with each general having his own army instead of a single one existing. Because of such discontinuities, the Roman Republic started to destabilize itself up to the point of the republic being overcome by a new form of government, the empire.

The Roman Republic was annually at the hands of two consuls who were elected by the citizens and advised by a senate. This was an initiative set to reduce absolute power over the people, but it also caused an inconsistency in that no individual actually kept the position long enough to specialize in what the Republic dealt with in the matter of economy, prosperity, and will of the people. The whole Republican system was controlled by a constitution that was not so much a written act, but rather a sort of understanding that defined the power of the institutions within the Republic. This so called unwritten constitution had no specific guidelines of its own, but rather adopted previous ones in the history of the state, adapted them to contemporary issues and developed them throughout time. It decided over everything from citizenship and legal rights to religion and the justice system. Again, there are arguments as to the type of constitution that prevailed in the Roman Republic and, in this respect, ?if one looked at the power of the Consuls, the constitution seemed completely monarchial; if at that of the Senate, it seemed aristocratic; and if at the power of the masses, it seemed clearly to be a democracy. (Craig et al. 45) The affirmation was meant to imply that decision factors in the Republic were shared between the Consuls and the Senate, each being attributed with different areas of expertise. In this respect, the people were left the task of administering punishments and rewards within the society, that is to say that they held a position that enabled some influence within the justice system. However, in more than one occasion, the patricians who were the upper class were favored over the plebeians. In saying that, we confirm that the senate was dominated by patricians and although plebeians who were rich and successful enough to reach the tribunes did exist, their interest differed very from that of the patricians who only sought to keep their power and the actual state of governance. It was really difficult to maintain a position because the fees were high and as such, not everyone could reach the point of having some sort of influence within the Republic. With elected officials using their positions to maintain power and substantiate their wealth and with plebeians buying their way to the office, tension arose because legislation was no more created for good government, but laws were being passed because it favored officials. This tension developed into a dangerous state of things with safety no longer guaranteed and no police force existing because there were no resources to pay them. These were the problems the Republic was confronting itself with when the decline started to be noticed.

Tiberius Gracchus sought he would solve many of the Republic's problems if he offered land to the peasantry that was starting to take cities by assault. When he became a tribune in 133 B.C.E, he proposed a bill in this respect; however, he anticipated that this initiative would jeopardize the control of the powerful senators over these public lands. Obviously, they would not be so willing to give away land that was more or less in their possession. This is why Tiberius went pass the senate to inoculate his land reform, not knowing he would stir up not an economical revolution, but indeed a military one. Although his aims were recognized as legal, the process developed into a revolution when opposite forces sought to overrule the law. Tiberius claimed his bill was predominant over any other issues concerning Rome's government, something that has been debated on account of Tiberius' ambitions having laid the foundations for the following civil war. After having his bill overruled by Octavius the first time, Tiberius confidently introduced it again and once again the former voted against it. This led to Octavius being deposed from office at Tiberius' request, an unprecedented fact in the constitution. The bill was passed and inoculated with Tiberius' influence growing stronger and demanding, something not exactly at ease with the senate that felt its authority undermined. Because Tiberius knew his own life would be at stake, he sought to gain political immunity by once again being elected as Tribune. However, such matters contravened with the constitution and when he actually got re-elected, some furious senators reacted and killed Tiberius.

Following the Social war, the senate granted full citizenship rights to Italian allies, something it did not do until 88 B.C.E. when the riot started out. It was in fact a tactic of the senate to determine the rebellion forces to lay down their weapons. It is within this context that Lucius Cornelius Sulla was brought to the attention of the public. Descending from a rather poor Roman family, Sulla was given the mission to command the Roman troops against Mithridates who had allegedly murdered some 80.000 Romans and Italians while Rome was dealing with the Social war. However, others wanted to see Marius leading the army, a rather good military man, but not so effective politically. When Marius was chosen over Sulla, the latter regained his position by enforcement. He then went on to defeat Mithridates who had fled to Asia Minor and who eventually was granted peace by Sulla. On his return, the latter sought to redirect his actions towards eliminating any enemies in Rome and this was the step to the First Roman Civil War. Sulla put the senate back into its initial glory by conferring it full power over the state only to retire a year after. In such conditions, the governance of Rome was left at the hands of those who sought merely personal advantages. Pompey, a young army officer devoted to Sulla, eliminated Marius' supporters and deafened the slave revolt of Spartacus, the gladiator. He had a number of military accomplishments afterwards as well, but by that time, there was someone else who sought to reestablish Roman power and that someone was Marius' son-in-law who had been forced into exile when Sulla took over control.