...Greek and Roman Concepts of Citizenship and Government Joe Wickenden, Sarah Dowling, Ginger Snyder, Leone Hansen HIS/341 October 27, 2014 Joel Getz Greek and Roman Concepts of Citizenship and Government The definition of citizenship in Greek and Roman cultures can be described much differently than the current democratic definition of contemporary nations. The Roman Empire differed from the Athenian Amphictyony and the Assyrian Empire as well as the sunder later emperors such as Vespasian. There were also structural problems within the government of the Roman Empire. This paper will explore the models of government and citizenship that Ancient Roman and Greek peoples employed along with how well they worked. Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged legal status granted only to un-slaved individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance (Jahnige, 2002). In the Roman Republic as well as later in the Empire, citizenship could be divided into several categories; a male Roman citizen, Roman women, Client state, Freedmen, and slaves; each having their own freedoms that came with their citizenship. Latin Rights were given by the Romans which was an intermediate between full Roman citizenship and non-citizenship's (2002). In other words, the Latin right was the ticket to obtaining full-fledged Roman citizenship. In the days of the Republic, those holding the Latin right had most of the liberties of citizens except the right to vote. Furthermore, only citizens could...
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...There are many differences between the two cultures Roman and Greek. One difference is that Greek culture was exceedingly older than Roman culture. Rome conquered and grew, and it as well consisted of city states very similar to Greek, but they united and one day decided they want to conquer the world. Of course, Greek fell to the Romans. When the Romans demolished them, they decided that they really liked Greek culture, and they adopted many Greek characteristics into their own culture. -The concept of citizenship and the duties of the citizen. The concept of citizenship of the Roman was a similar to the Greek model but differed in substantive ways. The Roman conception of citizenships was relatively more complex and nuanced than the earlier Greek conception, and it usually did not involve political participation. There was a “multiplication of roles” for citizens to play, and this sometimes led to “contradictory obligations”. In Greek ideas of the citizenship in the city-state, such as the principles of equality under the law, civic participation in government, and notions that “no one citizen should have too much power for too long”, were carried forth into the Roman world. Greek sense of citizenship was an “emancipation from the world of things” in which citizens essentially acted upon other citizens; material things were left back in the private domestic world of the oikos, the Roman sense increasingly reflected the fact that citizens could act upon material things...
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...The concept of democracy and citizenship originated in Greece. Greek citizenship was granted by the birth from a Greek mother and father, together with an assembly member. Without citizenship, they couldn’t own land, but they were required to pay taxes and serve in the military. Greek philosopher Aristotle defined citizenship as “he who has the power to take part in the deliberative or judicial administration of any state. ” Citizenship was restrictive as well as exclusive. In a Greek polis, you either enjoyed full citizenship or none at all. By contrast, Romans developed a sense of belonging to the Roman State by allowing citizenship to be granted to any group of people. The Roman Republic shared rulership between the Patricians and the Plebeians. To the Greek city-states and the Roman Republic, citizenship was a form of local democracy, administered by the Senate and elected magistrates. But unlike Greek city-states, Roman citizenship wasn’t restricted by place of birth or land ownership, it could also be obtained by service to Rome. The Greek city-state government was made up of commoners, they created their own legislation and judiciary, and they had freedom of speech. By limiting citizenship, a Greek citizen became a privileged class that controlled land ownership. After Rome conquered a territory, it shared the wealth that it accumulated with the conquered. Rome’s willingness to extend its citizenship increased its manpower and wealth, and laid the foundation...
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... 1 Factors determining citizenship: - Parents are citizens -Born within a county -Marriage to a citizen -Naturalization 2 History * 2.1 Polis citizenship * 2.2 Roman ideas of citizenship * 2.3 Middle Ages * 2.4 Renaissance * 2.5 Modern times 3 Different senses of citizenship -International citizenship -Commonwealth citizenship -European Union citizenship -Subnational citizenship Citizenship education * United Kingdom * Ireland citizenship in Bangladesh CITIZENSHIP: Citizenship laws are based upon the Bangladesh Citizenship Order dated 1972. Questions concerning persons born before March 26, 1971, should be directed to the Bangladesh Embassy. (UKC-Commonwealth Nation) BY BIRTH: Birth within the territory of Bangladesh does not automatically confer citizenship. Only persons born before March 26, 1971 would be deemed Bangladesh citizens by birth. BY DESCENT: Rules stated below apply to persons born after March 26, 1971. Child born of a Bangladesh father, regardless of the child's country of birth. Child whose grandfather was a citizen of Bangladesh, regardless of the child's country of birth. Child born of a Bangladesh mother and an unknown or stateless father, regardless of the child's country of birth. OTHER: Person who was a permanent resident of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971, is granted citizenship, unless disqualified by law at that time. BY NATURALIZATION: A person...
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...nations that do not match these standards are classed as "undemocratic". The concept of "democracy" is contestable. It is understood by many people to mean a form of government in which a significant portion of the governed society has a franchise to elect members of the governing body. Other observers would argue that a "true" democracy is a system of government that embraces a universal adult franchise. While flaws exist in all democratic systems of government, most advocates accept Churchill's dictum that contemporary democracy as we know it is the least bad of all systems of government. What is democracy? The popular understanding of the term "democracy" is that there are three basic forms: direct, representative and constitutional. Direct democracy is a form of government in which the right to participate in making political decisions is exercised directly by all citizens, acting under procedures of majority rule. In large states, direct or participative democracy is not possible. Representative democracy is a form of government in which the citizens exercise the same right of participation in making political decisions, not in person but through elected representatives. However, different representative political structures can produce substantially different outcomes. There is no simple formula for democracy that can relate popular preferences to political outcomes in complex systems of government. Plato's fear that the momentary majority could implement policies that would...
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...The start of Western Civilization can be traced back to the East where people in Mesopotamia and Egypt developed organized societies and created the ideas and institutions that we connect to civilization. Greeks and Romans also played a big role in the development and were fed and influenced by these older societies in the East. Around 3000 B.C., people in Mesopotamia and Egypt began to develop cities and deal with the problems of states. In order to deal with the problems they developed writing to keep records which then created text. Our memory of humans began with these two civilizations. Many things lead up to the creation of the dynamic western culture, a few of those being religion in egypt, the fall of rome, the creation of new european...
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...Greek and Roman Comparison Lisa Lain HIS275CA June 1, 2015 Zachary Lenz Greek and Roman Comparison The Greek and Roman empires were very important to the history of the world. With their empires came religions and philosophies. While their religions were much different, both the Greeks and the Romans turned to Christianity at some point. Their philosophies were also quite different. They each studied the building blocks of the universe and created their own theories. With any empire come societal struggles. Both the Greek and Roman empires dealt with such struggles but the main aspect of the struggles varied. Territorial expansion was very important in both the Greek and the Roman empires. They both sought out to find more land and fought for the land they found through wars and battles. Trade and commerce were a major contribution to both empires as well. While both empires traded different things both within their empires, they also traded outside of it. The Roman and Greek civilizations also dealt with a decline in civilization. The reasoning behind their declines was different, but both empires contributed to their own decline. Religions and Philosophies While the Greek and Roman religions differed greatly, they both turned to Christianity at one point. In the beginning religions, the Greeks and Romans alike believed in many gods. Each of these gods was believed to be a god of certain events. Both the Greek and the Romans worshipped their gods at temples...
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...How did the Roman army and the application of Roman law serve to transmit Roman culture and values in the provinces (areas)? You may address topics such as language, veteran’s settlements, citizenship, marriage, gender, legal principles and other social concepts. Prior to the Roman Republic the Etruscans conquered Rome, owning the mainland and its people which had a major influence the Roman civilization. Rome was turned into a city and the Romans had now adopted the Eutruscans alphabet, fashion and its army as well as introducing trade. The Roman army especially had an influence on the Growth of civilization when peace was established during the Pax Romana. Such peaceful conditions also promoted trade which was a very important aspect of Roman society. Roman laws and the growth of the Roman Empire were the two aspects which affected Roman religious beliefs. As Rome conquered the majority of Europe many of the different religions were introduced and later accepted in Rome to unite people. Religion was divided into two, the Gods which watched over people and their families and the pater familias who was in charge of the household worship that honoured them. A few centuries later Christianity was born. During the Pax Romana the Roman army has had a major influence on the civilization of Rome. The Roman culture made a wide spread throughout many of Western Europe including countries such as Britain and Spain. As Rome’s current Emperor, Augustus’ establishment of peace meant...
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...As the Founders began to reshape the nation, key components were crucial for the foundation of the new society. Such as the ancient greek and roman ideals behind classical republicanism, the belief that citizens should act in favor of the common good, above personal interest; and natural rights philosophy, in which basic rights are considered inherent in being human. The Founder’s interpretation of these ideals became the basis of the new forming government, and a mixture of the two are still prevailing within the political sphere today. Many aspects of classical republicanism appealed to the Founders and affected their methods of governing. For example, small uniform communities, citizenship and civic virtue, and moral education, all emphasize...
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...__________________________________________________________________________________ PGCE - Citizenship Will the Requirement to Teach Fundamental British Values Have A Detrimental Effect on the Perception of the Value of Citizenship Education? Module 2 Word Count – 3696 ___________________________________________________________________________________ 1 __________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ 2 __________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract This essay looks back at the development of citizenship education and Britain’s position as one of the last democratic countries of the western world to introduce the subject into its National Curriculum. Since its introduction as a statutory subject in 2002 it has been beset by a lack of content, clarity and identity leading to a perception of low status by teachers and pupils alike. The “light touch” implementation by the government of the day has contributed to its lack of standing against other National Curriculum subjects. It is in danger of being perceived as a political “Clothes Horse” for the government to use to promote fundamental British values as a means of countering extremism and radicalisation. This essay contends that the requirement to teach fundamental British values as part of citizenship education will have a detrimental effect on the perception...
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...and peaceful life with other citizens and as to how they can resolve conflicts peacefully among them selves. The other basic nature of human being is the political view of philosophy by Plato that, “Man is a political animal”, which means no human being can escape from the deeds of politics and its dayto-day life is either directly or indirectly affected by it. For this reason human beings have to know the workings of politics, institutions that affect their day to day life, norms, principles and laws which are set in motion by politicians to govern their societies and above all the duties and rights that they have in the political community in which they are leading their life. So, civics tries to make them familiar with such and other concepts that make them active and awarded citizens. Civics as a branch of social science deals with the right and responsibilities of...
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...States, where most of us received our initial understanding of American history, we often witness a romanticized narrative of Americans striving forward towards progress with limited or partial understanding of race, the complex story of Native Americans and their removal from conquered lands, and the enslavement of African-Americans. The purpose of this essay is to rethink prior understandings of American history and what race means, as well as how it has determined and limited citizenship and opportunity for some Americans, by exploring the voices in author Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove’s book Voices of a People’s History of the United States and other literary sources, and what American citizenship means to those not designated white, rich or male. The definition and concept of race, a human classification system used to group human beings into large and distinct categories, is a relatively recent modern concept, with roots in the breeding of animal stock that only became a commonly employed concept as a physical category by the end of the 18th century (Ferber 28). However, centuries earlier, emphasis on differences among human beings was used as a means for conquest and domination. Christopher Columbus, as taught in school history books, was known...
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...The Roman Legions: March Towards Empire For many centuries Rome stood as the dominant power in the Mediterranean world and at the heart of its power lay the strength of the Roman Legion. It was through the strength of the legions that Rome began to exert its dominance, and in turn found itself dominated by those same legions. The story of the rise of Rome then is a story of its legions. Evolving from simple citizen levies to the most successful professional army of the ancient world, the Roman Legions were instrumental in shaping Rome from Republic to Empire. Thus it can be argued that the evolution of the Roman Legion not only impacted its military superiority, but directly influenced the evolution of Rome. In the pre republican...
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...Degree Selected essays on Roman Civilization Plebeian revolt There are a number of causes that led to the first revolt by the Plebeians. Some of the causes of the revolt are poor distribution of land, poverty among the Plebeians, and the harsh debt law that affected the plebs. This essay will discuss the causes of the first Plebeian revolt as well as the results of the revolt. One of the main causes of the plebeian revolt was the existence of poverty among the Plebeians. The poverty was a result of the actions of the Patrician, in some ways. What happened was that the Plebs assisted the Patrician to expel the kings from Rome and led to a republican state. The fight against the kings left the plebs in a very worse off condition. Since the patricians lived in the city, during the war their property would remain secure. The city was guarded by walls. However, since the plebs lived in the countryside, which was not guarded, their property was greatly destroyed during the wars. The plebs’ fields were destroyed as much as their property. The destruction of the property and fields was possible since the Plebs men were fighting in the wars leaving their homes unprotected. So, whereas the men were fighting during the wars their properties and fields were being plundered, making them very poor at the end of the wars. So the Plebs were not happy that their properties and fields were being destroyed by the enemies, when in fact they were serving in the Roman army for the sake of protecting...
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...Our first President eloquently stated the rationale for national service: "... it must be laid down as a primary position and the basis of our (democratic) system, that every citizen who enjoys the protection of a free Government owes not only a proportion of his property, but even his personal service to the defense of it.” George Washington’s statement makes explicit the social contract inherent in US citizenry: to enjoy our nation’s freedoms requires we as citizen’s to bear personal responsibility for defending them. And yet, today, while our nation continues to fight war on several fronts and must regularly contemplate new military interventions and increased domestic threats, less than 0.5 percent of our population serves in our armed forces. (Eikenberry & Kennedy) Futhermore, this minute percentage “ ... is disproportionately composed of racial, ethnic, and other demographic minorities.” (Kennedy) In part because of this gross disparity, few americans are forced shoulder any true sacrifice from our military actions. Not only is the familial sacrifice of having a loved one serve no longer widespread but the majority of us bear not the tanglible daily realization of being at war that past generations have known, including materials rationing. Even anti-war protests—like those that were a hallmark of our Vietnam War era—are less visible since we have moved to an all volunteer army. This lack of respresentational and fair accountability on our citizenry...
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