THE
GRACCI BROTHERS
In
133 BC Tiberius Gracchus was elected Tribune in Rome,
a position established in 470 BC to protect the interest
of the common people of Rome (the plebeians) from exploitation
by the wealthy (patrician) class. Tiberius Gracchus attempted
to limit the amount of land an individual could own. He
wanted to rent the extra land to Rome's impoverished,
landless peasants. The Gracchi proposal was stonewalled
by the patrician controlled Roman Senate. His term expired
in 132 BC without any action being taken on the land issue
in Rome.
Contrary
to custom, Tiberius Gracchus ran for a second term and
won. The patricians accused him of seeking dictatorial
powers and instigated an election riot that killed Tiberius
Gracchus and three hundred of his close supporters. The
Roman Republic in 132 BC stood divided between the have-not
plebian class and the wealthy patrician class.
In
123 BC, Tiberius' brother, Gaius Gracchus, ran for Tribune
hoping to implement his brother's program of land reform.
Gaius also hoped to reduce the cost of grain in Rome.
The patrician class controlled the cost of grain, and
grain was a staple in the diet of Rome's plebian class.
Gaius Gracchus won the election in 123 BC, and his reform
programs were also stonewalled by the Senate. Gaius also
ran again for Tribune in 122 BC and won. Once again the
Senate staged an election riot. This time the riot claimed
over 1000 Gracchi supporters; Gaius was one of the victims.
Rome's class problems continued. The patricians continued
to monopolize land and food prices in Rome, while the
poor remained on the dole (Rome's version of public assistance).
Rome's
failure to realistically deal with the problems of the
landless plebeians paved the way for the rise of the generals,
civil war, and the fall of the Roman Republic. By 50 BC,
Julius Caesar had come to power. His attempts to deal
with the landless plebeians caused the patrician Senators
to stab him to death in the hallowed halls of the Senate
on the Ides of March 44 BC. The Roman patricians had failed
to end class strife, but discovered a unique way enforce
term limits. History's currents or current history-you
decide!
