Essay On The Plebeian Social Class

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INTRO

Throughout history there have been countless examples of people in a higher economic class benefiting from the mistreatment of those beneath them. In most cases there comes a time when the lower class can no longer tolerate the mistreatment and they fight back with the hopes of improving their circumstances. Unfortunately, in a lot of instances when the lower classes decide to fight for their rights, the higher classes fight back, resulting in bloodshed on both sides. While there are modern examples of this struggle of the lower class, there are also examples that date back thousands of years ago. The example I will be discussing is from the early days of Rome, with the patricians and the plebeians.

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The patricians and the plebeians were initially united under the effort to push out the kings that ruled over both
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While the plebeians were allowed to vote in the “comitta centuriata,” they were not allowed to hold public office or sit in the senate (Morey, 1901). The patricians were wealthy, powerful, and they did not suffer as badly as the plebeians did from the wars. They were able to use this power and wealth to shift society in their favor, and benefitted from the suffering of the plebeians.

In 494 B.C. the plebeians had finally reached their breaking point and committed to their first secession from the patricians. This was their best way to stand up to the patricians since they had no power to make changes through the government. The plebeians marched as one to a hill that they dubbed the “Sacred Mount”, and told the patricians that they would no longer fight alongside them (Morey, 1901). The patricians knew that the plebeian army was a vital part of their defense and therefore agreed to work with the plebeians to make changes in the government that would benefit

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