The definition of democracy is “a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state”. In Ancient Rome’s government, there were three branches: the Assemblies, who represented the people, the magistrates, and the Senate. These three branches held different political powers in the Republic. The Roman Republic was not a democracy because most Romans did not vote, the magistrates and the Senate held military and financial power, and the magistrates had political control over the Assemblies.
First, most Romans did not have the ability to vote. Professor Alan Ward stated that “all voting had to be conducted in Rome”(Document C). This made voting very difficult for the vast majority of people in the Roman empire,…show more content… Professor Alan Ward says that “the voters faced only the legislative and electoral choices presented by the higher magistrates…. The voters had no role in selecting candidates for office or proposing legislation” (Document C). The Assemblies had no say on what laws they voted on, only whether they voted for or against them. This means that although they did have veto power on laws proposed by the magistrates, they did not have the power to propose any laws that were beneficial to them. Also, they could not select candidates for office, so they had to vote for one of the people the magistrates selected, who most likely would have the magistrates best interest at heart instead of the people’s. So, although the Assemblies did have legislative ability, the magistrates had the upper hand. In sum, The Roman Republic was obviously not a democracy because the people did not actually hold the power. In theory, having three branches with different powers would be a democratic system. However, the branches were not balanced, and Rome’s government did not include the whole population. Because most Romans were disenfranchised, the magistrates and the Senate held military and financial power, and the magistrates had political control over the Assemblies, Ancient Rome was not a
