Cicero+and+Ancient+Rome

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC) was a Roman senator, lawyer, scholar, and writer who tried to maintain the Republican principles in the final civil wars that destroyed the Roman Republic.


 * Cicero argued that a virtuous life required involvement of the people to improve the well-being of a community, and feared that a loss of virtue was the source of Rome's destruction. Cicero's idea of natural law was the basis of the constitution, which is "Human nature included reason,which could be used to discover justice, which was the basis of law". Cicero was a symbol for the creation of our government, opposing tyranny, protecting the justice and well-being of the people, and natural rights were all included in our founding documents. Cicero realized that a tightly contraining government was necessary, because he thought "Never was there a government that was not composed of liars, malefactors and thieves."**

In Ancient Rome all adult **Males**were allowed to vote, this completely excluded slaves who were not citizens and woman. The poorest citizens had very little influence on politics, and only when there was a tie did poor votes truly matter. If you were very rich, you would be voting in a tiny group with a few other rich people; if you were poor, then you would be voting in a huge group with most of the rest of the urban population. When a mission came to Rome from another city, the delegates addressed the Senate and Senate decided what needed to be done. They did not bother with any other body or class of Romans besides the richest. In some instances Senate could not take on an action because it could not pass a law because it could only //recommend// action. Magistrates in the end were in power of the decision of declaring war, ect...   The greatest part of this form of government for the people was the ablility to be able to go to the Magistrates who would use their power as a political figure to form action had the right to go to the popular assembly to propose any bill they care to, and if passed it would become of law. Magistrates also had to be elected by the people, because there was no easy way.(Even Julius Caesar succeeded through election).

Video on the Roman Republic


 * “Nothing is more unreliable than the populace, nothing more obscure than human intentions, nothing more deceptive than the whole electoral system.” - Cicero **
 * The public and the electoral system is unreliable and deceptive even in modern times. **


 * “[Cicero was] an unknowing architect of constitutions that still govern our lives.” - Anthony Everitt **


 * Cicero helped create our Constitution with his ideals, but he was long gone before we made our Constitution, so he was unaware that he would be so influential. **



Works Cited:

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 * "Cicero on Justice, Law and Liberty."Mises Economics Blog — Proceeding Ever More Boldly Against Evil. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. < [] >.
 * "Compare the Roman Republic vs U.s Democracy?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013.
 * Global Regents. "Roman Republic - YouTube." YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. .
 *  "Marcus Tullius Cicero (Roman statesman, scholar, and writer) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia."Britannica Online Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2013. < [] >.
 *  "Marcus Tullius Cicero Quotes - BrainyQuote." Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2013. < [] >
 * North, John. "Student Research Center - powered by EBSCOhost: Democracy in Rome." EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. 