15/05/27

We took a test today which is about ancient Rome. I reviewed really hard last night and I thought I will do well. But, I still got 10 wrong... We will take the essay part which is for our final exam tomorrow. I hope I will do well on it.

15/05/23

today in class, we were review for the Rome test next week. and also, on Thursday, we are going to write essay which is for the final exam. at the end of the class, Mr. Schick brought some cookie for us.

15/05/18 - 15/05/21

this week, we are presenting our project in class. the project is about ancient rome. Suky and I presented our project on Thursday. our project include one video, one model and one drawing. most part of the video is made by Suky, and most part of the model is made by me. our drawing is roman rich people and roman poor people. we can see, there are some really big different between rich people and poor people. the poor people have darker skin and there hands are bigger.we drew the rich people and suky drew the poor beople. i think we did great.

15/05/14

Poor plebs

• how do you keep the plebs happy (at least keep them from revolting)?
• the poet Juvenal said the people “anxiously hopes for two things: bread and circuses”
• bread (free grain from the state) and entertainment (Circus Maximus, Colosseum), partly to keep them alive, and partly to keep them quiet

Changing in rule

• Tiberius Gracchus recognized the advantages of courting the plebeians (even though he was ultimately unsuccessful)
• military general worked that angle - lead an army the conquers a land, then give them a share in the spoils
• soldier' loyalty was to their military leader, not necessarily to Rome or the Republic 

Julius Caesar

• 100 - 44 BCE
• a highly successful general
• he conquered the huge territory of Gual
• made common folks happy
• made friends in high places (Pompey, a general who conquered Syria and Palestine; Crassus, the richest man in Rome, one of the richest men in all history)
• theses three men formed the First Triumvirate (means "rule of three men")

11/05/13

today in class we took a little quiz. all of us did not know we have quiz today and i did not review at all. so, my grade was...
after the quiz, we are working on our project. the project is due on next monday.

15/05/11

today we watch a video in class which is about ancient Rome. their leader was dead and his son Tiberius lead them to fight with Carthage. Tiberius was dead 20 years later. the king's wife, Tiberius' mother, make a dead masque for the king and keep it in the palace.

15/05/08

Mr. Schick was here today so we went to Mr. Gaudreau's room and working on our project.

25/05/07

Today in Western Civilization class Mr. Schick's computer didn't work so we watched a video, which named "The Rise and Fall of an Empire". Suky didn't take her computer so we share, and i have my headphones with me (So luck!!!)

15/05/06

Roman legion

• 5000 soldier, not in it for pay
• - the Roman army's elite heavy infantry 
• - recruited exclusively from Roman citizens 
• group of eight's a century 
• on horseback is the cavalry 
• shield sword dagger, and armor and tunic 

The Punic War

• 264 - 146 BCE
• Rome vs. Carthage
• Three war

First Punic War

• 264 - 241 BCE (23 year)
• naval battles for control of the strategically located island of Sicily 
• Rome wins this one

Second Punic War 

• 218 - 201 BCE (17 years)
• 29 - year - old Carthaginian general Hannibal almost does the impossible: taking Rome 
• attack Rome from the North after crossing Iberia (Spain) and the Alps
• lays siege to much of peninsula for 15 years, but he never can get to Rome

Third (and final) Punic War

• 149 - 149 BCE (only 3 year)
• Rome wanted ti finally remove the treat of Carthage
• Scipio, Tiberius Gracchus, and others mercilessly attacked the city
• Carthage was burned for 17 days; the city's walls and building are utterly destroyed
• when the war ended the last 50,000 people in the city were sold into slavery
• the rest of Carthage's territories were annexed and made into the Roman province of Africa

Economic change

• slaves poured into Italy (50,000 Carthaginians, 150,000 Greek POWs, etc.)
• by the end of the second century BCE there were over a million slaves in Italy
• small farmers lost their land to aristocrats (for little or no money) if they couldn’t pay their debts, sometimes because the men of the farm were fighting battles
• slaves did the work on the farms for the rich
• the big farms became massive estates called latifundia

15/05/04

Three government rolled into one Patricians 

• Rule of Kings is replaced by rule of the consuls 
• consuls are elected officials
• term of office: one year
• always aristocrats (patricians)
• patricians traced their descent from a famous ancestor or pater ("father")
• duties: dealing justice, making law, commanding the army
• one consul could veto the other (reducing the power of the individual)

a challenge from the "regular folks"

• fifth century BCE - patrician dominance of the government was challenged by the plebs ("people")
• plebs were 98% of the population 
• how did the patricians dominate?
• - plebs had to serve in the army, but could not hold office
• - plebs were threatened with debt slavery
• plebs had no legal rights

no legal rights

• plebs were victims of discriminatory decisions in judicial trials
• Rome had no actual laws, just unwritten customs
• patricians could interpret these to their own advantage 
• plebs refused to serve in the military until ...
• - laws were written out [The Law of the Twelve Tables]
• - these laws (on tablets) were posted in public (in 450 BCE)
• - tribunes ("tribal leaders") were elected 

SPQR - Senatus Populusque Romanum 

res publica - the people's affairs

• democracy (the people's assembly and the tribunes)
• aristocracy (the Senate - approx. 300 members)
• plus monarchy (the consuls)
• not a tyranny

Government: ancient Roman/USA

• the US modeled their new government on the model used by the ancient Romans
• not exactly same
• both have three branches of government
• - executive
• - legislative 
• - judicial
• both have a legal code 

Three branches [1]

Executive (Rome)

• two consuls
• one year terms
• each has veto power
• controls the military
• could appoint a dictator in a crisis for six - month term

Executive (USA)

• president (and VP)
• four year terms
• can veto proposed laws
• commander - in - Chief

Three branches [2]

legislative (Rome)

• Senate - 300 people - aristocrats - members for life
• Assemblies 

legislative (USA)

• Senate - 100 senators (two from each state) - six-year terms
• House of Representative - 435 members  - two-year terms

Three branches [3]

Judicial (Rome)

• Praetors
• chosen by the Centuriate Assembly 
• one - year terms

Judicial (USA)

• Supreme Court
• nine members
• appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate
• lifetime terms

Legal code

Twelve Tables （Rome）

• publically displayed 
• gave rights to plebeians, not just aristocrats
• only protected freeborn male citizens (not women)

Bill of Rights (USA)

• first ten amendments to the Constitution