HOW THE PLEBEIANS WON THEIR RIGHTS 41
more power and better protection were given them, and they demanded that he and the other decemviri be burned alive. They finally agreed , however, to return , provided they might have tribunes again . Eight of the wicked ten were ban ished . Appius Claudius and one other committed suicide .
The plebeians had their tribunes; and a little later the Va-le'ri-o-Ho-ra'tian Laws, so named from the consuls Valerius and Horatius, who secured their passage, gave the tribunes the right to sit at the door of the senate house, listen to whatever went on , and say, Veto (I forbid it), to any meas ure of which they did not approve . More than this , they de creed that whatever resolutions the plebeian assembly of tribes passed should become laws. This was in 449 B. C.
The plebeians were gaining in power rapidly . They could pass resolutions which would become laws; they could elect their own tribunes , and those tribunes could listen to what ever went on in the senate house . Before long , they were al lowed to marry among the patricians . There was one office, that of consul , which the patricians were determined they should never hold . They did succeed , however, in holding a new office , that of " military tribune with consular power , " which was really almost the same as that of consul . The patricians could not prevent this , but they elected some new patrician officers called censors and gave them much of the power which the consuls had held . These censors not only numbered the people and took an account of their property, but they had a right to reduce the rank of a man if they de cided that he had been cruel to his family , or extravagant , or dishonest , or was in any way unworthy . They could also in
crease his taxes, for they could set whatever valuation they chose upon his vineyards and olive trees and carriages and jewels and slaves . Indeed , while the censor held office and wore his scarlet robe, he was almost as independent in his way as a dictator.
The plebeians had felt that it was a victory when they had won the right to be military tribunes with consular power, but now that these censors held so much of the consular power , they kept on with the fight to become consuls; and at last a law was passed which really gave them more power than the patricians , for it decreed that one consul must be a plebeian , and both might be . For a while the plebeians had to keep close watch to hold on to their rights , but by 300 B. c . the struggle had come to an end , and patricians and plebeians had equal rights in the state .
SUMMARY
The authentic history of Rome begins in 390 B. C. , but there is a foundation of truth in the early legends .
Rome had an excellent location , but a disunited people . The plebeians suffered greatly in the wars . They seceded to the Sacred Mountain, but returned on the promise : 1 , that their debts should be forgiven ; 2, that those who had been made slaves should be set free ; 3 , that two tribunes should be appointed to defend their rights .
The number of tribunes was increased to ten , and plebeian ædiles were also chosen . The plebeians were refused a share in the land taken in war . A law was passed that the tribunes should be elected in the assembly of tribes .
HOW THE PLEBEIANS WON THEIR RIGHTS 43
The plebeians demanded written laws ; and instead of consuls and tribunes , decemviri were chosen to ascertain what the laws were and set up the Twelve Tables in the forum .
Enraged at the crimes of Appius Claudius , the plebeians again withdrew to the Sacred Mountain , but returned on being promised tribunes . The Valerio-Horatian Laws gave these tribunes the right to listen to whatever went on in the senate and veto whatever measures they chose . It also provided that measures passed by the plebeian assembly of tribes should become laws. The plebeians were soon allowed to marry into patrician families and to hold the office of " military tribune with consular power. Then the pa tricians elected censors , who held much of the consular power . The plebeians finally won the right to become consuls , and by 300 B.C. patricians and plebeians had equal rights in the state .
SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK
A plebeian tells how much he suffered from war .
One of the plebeians tells the story of the secession to the Sacred Mountain .
Spurius Cassius explains and defends his law .
HOW ROME BECAME RULER OF ITALY
WHILE the plebeians were struggling for their share in the government of the city , and the patricians were doing their best to keep it out of their hands , there was some danger that no city would be left for either of them to govern . They held Rome and a little land around it ; but the Latins and the Her' a
