How did Rome's government developed? Early Romans divided into 2 classes: plebeians and patricians.The Patricians were wealthy landowners. These nobles made up Rome's wealthy classes. Most of Rome's, people, however,were plebeians. This group included artisans, shop keepers, and owners small farms. Both patrician and plebeian men were Roman citizens. They had the right to vote and the responsibility to pay tax and serve in the army. However, plebeians had less social status. Marriage between members of the two classes was forbidden. Plebeians or plebs also lacked an important political right: they could not hold public office.
How did Rome's government work? Rome had a tripartite, or 3-pqrt, government. One group of people enforce the law, another group made Law, and a third group acted as judges or interpreted the Law. It had checks and balances so that one group could not get to strong, but it did not separate the powers like our government does today. In the Roman Republic, the top government officials were the consuls. Two consuls-both Patricians - were chosen every year. They headed the army and ran the government. Because they served such short terms, there was little risk that they would abuse their power. The consuls also kept each other in line because each would veto the others decision.
What was the Relationship between Plebeians and Patricians? As you might expect, plebeians complain about having so little power in the Roman Republic. After all, they fought alongside patricians in the army, and their tax payments helped the republic thrive. Eventually, the Plebeians took action to bring about change. In 494BCE plebeians went on strike,they refuse to serve in the army. They also left the city to make a republic of their own. These moves frightened the patricians into agreeing to give power. In 471BCE many plebeians were allowed to set up republic of their own body of representatives, called the consul of the plebeians. The assembly elected tribuner who brought plebeian concerns to the government attention.