Tiberius Gracchus and the Struggle of the Orders

 "Why did Tiberius Gracchus attract so                much suspicion from the Roman Senate?" 

     To some, Tiberius Gracchus was a visionary.  To others, he was a poisonous spider that must be stomped on before it bites.  Needles to say, the people who looked down at him with a negative reaction would in the end, cause some disastrous consequences.  

     He was a politician that did things that simply weren't done.  This is why I believe that he received so much suspicion from the Roman Senate.  For instance, he ran for re-election as tribune which was not customary.  He also wanted to give back land to those who had fought by using tax revenues from one of the new kingdoms of Rome.  This was also not a customary practice.

     In the future, Tiberius is brutally killed over what we are told, was a misunderstanding.

     Later on, his idea of land commission ends up having some success.  This makes you wonder if perhaps the Roman Senate was more afraid of Tiberius' leaving of tradition, rather than his ideas.


"What specific changes occurred in Roman society as a result of the Struggle of the Orders?"

     First of all, let me give you some background information on what exactly the Struggle of the Orders was.

     The Struggle of the Orders was just that, a Struggle of the Orders.  These two orders, the Plebeians and the Patricians, were in a dispute over weather or not the Plebeians should have as much freedom as the Patricians did.

     In Roman society, if you were born a Plebeian, then you stayed a Plebeian no matter what.  Likewise, if you were born a Patrician, then you stayed a Patrician.  In this case, it did not matter how hard a Plebeian would try to gain as much freedom as a Patrician.  It was all about what class you were born into.

     After awhile, the Plebeians got sick and tired of being treated like second-class citizens, and rebelled.  They did this by leaving.  Since they greatly outnumbered the Patricians, this worked out rather well.

     Gradually, they started coming back.  Once they were back, they began to increase in freedom, but the Patricians did still have certain benefits that the Plebeians didn't.

     The Plebeians were getting the freedom that they had hoped for.  Intermarriage between the two classes was made legal, you couldn't be enslaved for debts you owed, and by 342 BC, one consul actually had to be a Plebeian!

     These were some of the changes that occurred in Roman Society as a result of the Struggle of the Orders.

     I hope that you have enjoyed this essay, and please let me know what you think!