Tiberius Gracchus And His Radical Reforms - 1563 Words

Christian J. Chapa Dr. Andrew Bell HIS 458/658 6 November, 2015 Tiberius Gracchus and his Radical Reforms It stands that Cicero claims that the men of the Roman Senate were made great by the fact that they are not dishonored by the spilling of blood of Tiberius Gracchus. I disagree with that notion. I believe that Gracchus was just trying to do what he thought was the right thing to do for the Roman Republic and the plebeian group. It was his duty as a tribune to watch for the needs of the Roman citizens, specifically to watch over the needs of the plebeian class. This group did not own large amounts of property. The reforms he wanted would affect land ownership in the Republic. He was opposed by the optimates, a group that favored the rich-landowning aristocracy of the Senate, their supporters, and elements of the optimates was formed against them (Lewis and Reinhold 269). By contrast, a group called the populares, who support the plebeian masses, was against them (Lewis and Reinhold 269). Gracchus was doing his duty to the s tate as he perceived it. I think that the members of the Roman Senate were threatened by Tiberius’s actions and so killed him to end the matter. The blood spilled over Gracchus is one that was agreed upon, by the Roman patricians, to be something noble and to be proud of. They were opposed to the bill proposed by Gracchus over agricultural reform and land re-distribution, â€Å"Tiberius Gracchus carried an agrarian law; the people acclaimed for it,Show MoreRelatedThe Fall Of The Roman Republic1368 Words   |  6 Pageshad that allowed for armies to become loyal to its commander rather than the Roman state. For centuries, these issues were kept under control and the Republic was able to grow throughout the Western world. However, starting with more radical figures such as Tiberius and Gaius Gracchi and continuing to Sulla, Pompey, and Caesar, these issues were exacerbated and led to the downfall of the Republic. Throughout the history of the Roman Republic, there had always been tension between the plebian and