Roman Citizenship Dbq Essay

Citizenship in Athens & Rome: Which was the Better System? The ancient Romans had a better system in regards to government and citizenship than the Athenians. Unlike the Athenians, the Romans allowed people living in conquered lands to become citizens with limited rights. Native-born Roman women and children were considered citizens while in Athens, only free, native-born adult males are citizens. The Romans also had a better-organized government system. The sheer size of the Roman Empire in comparison to Athens greatly depended on Roman connection to the surrounding lands. As said in Document C, rather than forcing all of the people on conquered lands into slavery, the Roman system gave out citizenship in limited amounts. For example, the Foederati, people who lived in city-states with alliances to Rome, were given limited rights in exchange for military service. Latini, people from regions outside of Rome but still on the Italian peninsula, were granted citizenship as well as the right to travel and do business. These people could not, however, have an official Roman marriage. Foreigners from conquered lands such as the Peregrini from India could be given partial or full citizenship.
Native-born women and children in Rome were also
Documents E and F highlight the main differences in the administration systems. The Athenian Assembly met forty times a year and during these meetings, any of the forty thousand Athenian citizens were eligible to attend. This can easily lead to arguments between the huge crowds breaking out. The large number of attendees could also make it very difficult to properly count votes. The Council of Five Hundred was a group of officials that oversaw the Assembly. While this may sound like a great way to keep order, the officials were chosen by lottery from the general citizenry. This could lead to an unfair representation of the general public in the