Roman Democracy

Rome is often considered the Father of Modern Democracy. Indeed, although democracy has its beginnings in Ancient Greece, it did not evolve into its more contemporary version until the time of the Romans. Obviously, since Rome is responsible for present-day democracy, all of the nations that use this form of governance, like, for example, the United States, fundamentally utilize Roman law. For instance, both Rome and the United States alike allowed the existence of slavery and established laws to disenfranchise not only this group, but women as well. This essential equivalence in governmental structure between Rome and the United States hints not only to a lack of political development throughout the ages, but to an inadequate social and cultural …show more content…
This guardianship, which was considered manus, not only allowed the husband to make all legal decisions for his wife, but entitled the husband to any possessions his wife may have had before the marriage. Subsequently, married women would not be able to own any property. Additionally, due to patria potestas, the property the married woman would supposedly be in possession of would in fact belong to her father, and not necessarily to herself. It could also be said that women were regarded in a sense as property. For example, in Table VI of the Twelve Tables, which deals with ownership and possession, contains a law regarding women. Law V of this table states, “Where a woman, who has not been united to a man in marriage, lives with him for an entire year without the usucaption of her being interrupted for three nights, she shall pass into his power as his legal wife.” Scott comments on this law and says, “This indicates the existence of woman as a mere chattel to be acquired by uninterrupted possession and use for a year, like any other species of personal property.” (68). Likewise, from the Early Colonial Period to 1839, common law in the United States allowed for a legal doctrine known as coverture. The law of coverture operated relatively in the same fashion as manus. Before her nuptials, a woman could own property, bring forth court cases, and even write her …show more content…
This can be seen in several examples from American history. For instance, in 1873, Myra Bradwell presented a case against the United States Supreme Court because her state forbade her to practice law. Bradwell believed she was protected by the privileges clause of the fourteenth amendment, but the Supreme Court ruled this clause did not protect women, and so any state had the right to bar women from any occupation they saw fit. It is more than overt that a clear bias existed in relation to women and their capacity to perform in politics. When the reason for this discrimination in both societies is considered, further parallelism is