THE RISE OF DEMAGOGUERY AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

Therefore, the weak and poor in the society felt alienated from the leadership of the nation leading to the rebellion of different characters in search for democracy. This study notes that the political system in the Roman Republic was faced by many civil crashes due to the leadership system. The leadership of the nation was governed by an unwritten constitution which was divided into the Senate and consulships which acted as the determinants of laws to be placed, religion to be adopted, and the right to citizenship among others. However, there was no formal platform of instituting changes and yet most of the decisions makers did not represent the whole society. This study concentrates on discussing the demagoguery in the Roman Republic and its effects thereof. In other cases, the revolting people would be treated as enemies of peace and killed.

Such include aristocratic Gracchi brothers who were killed after trying to spearhead revolution. Hannibal's conquest of Italy Hannibal decided to invade Rome in order to stop poor leadership that was in the nation. He had been made by his father Hamilcar Barca to take an oath declaring the Roman Republic his enemy for life. The strategy used involved traveling across mountains instead of following the expected Mediterranean Sea that his enemies expected would be the route. The leadership system continued to favor the rich against the poor until the citizens could not take it anymore. People like Publius Clodius Pulcher who is recognized as one of the noblemen and a populist demagogue refused to agree with the leadership system and instead asked for a revolution. This was a result of realizing how the leadership was mistreating the poor in the society.

Roman populists could not understand Clodius due to his unpredictable nature. The public supported his move to fight against the government leading to crashes in the Roman Republic. The wealthy increased their wealth while the poor started getting hauled to Greece and Spain. Land ownership became another issue that was detrimental to the poor. As many wealth class individuals started buying land from the poor, the latter became more desperate since they could only live as sharecroppers and tenant owners. The economic disparity between the poor and the rich continued to increase when farming became an issue. The poor could not manage to produce their own food and instead, they relied on the rich for daily meals. Tiberius Gracchus went ahead to threaten that if such a move was to be taken by the Senate then he would put a seal prohibiting state business transaction.

However, he was killed in the process. This shows the highest level of demagoguery since protectors of poor citizens were always targeted by the government and killed to avoid altering the governing structure. The populist politics were spread across the Mediterranean by the senators who controlled leadership in the Roman Republic as if it was a family property. This study notes that the Senate strategically agreed not to allow their internal conflicts to be absorbed by the other citizens due to self-gain of protecting the grabbed resources. Unfortunately, during one of the crashes, Clodius was greatly wounded and Milo ordered his killing in the process. The death of Clodius led to more support of his political assertions and most of the commoners who viewed him as one of their own continued agitating for equal treatment in the nation.

The civil war witnessed in Rome after Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC led to a great revolt by the citizens. This led to the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the autocratic empire. Conclusion This study has concentrated on discussing the demagoguery in the Roman Republic and its effects thereof. Meet the Trump of Ancient Rome, a Populist Demagogue Who Helped Bring Down the Republic.  The Huffington Post 12 (2016). Loss, Roberto. Fine’s McTaggart: reloaded.  Manuscrito 40, no. Richardson, John S. The ownership of Roman land: Tiberius Gracchus and the Italians.  The Journal of Roman Studies 70 (1980): 1-11. Sorge, Antonio.  Legacies of Violence: History, Society, and the State in Sardinia.