Who were the Gracchus Brothers from the Roman Republic?

Question

If anyone can help with this. I need to write an essay for my world history class about the actions of the Gracchus Brothers (Marius, Sulla, and Julius Caesar) and the effects of those actions in the Roman Republic?

Answer 1

The Gracchi were dead before Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Sulla and Julius Caesar were born. They were a generation ahead of Gaius Marius.

The Gracchi were two brothers who felt that the Roman Republic was treating its citizens poorly, and sought election in an effort to enact legislation that would broaden the franchise and protect the plebians from debt slavery and other social evils. Both were killed by their conservative political opponents.

In the next generation Gaius Marius, an outsider in Roman political terms as he had no ancestors who had ever held office, led the legions to a series of stunning victories over the German tribes who had previously massacred all the armies Rome had sent against them, thereby becoming such a national hero that he was elected consul an unprecedented number of times. He was a bit of a reformer in the political sense, particularly in the matter of army recruitment and rewarding the veterans wuth grants of public land.

Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who reached his prime just as Gaius marius was dying, became dictator of Rome during a civil war at the head of the conservative faction of the Senate. He was an interesting man, with few if any sexual inhibitions and a love of drink and drugs. He did, however, manage to straighten out the mess that civil war between the conservatives and liberals had made of the Roman Republic.

Julius Caesar was, reputedly, a nephew by marriage of Gaius Marius. Both Marius and Sulla felt that young Caesar was a dangerous fellow, and tried to stop him from advancing. He is the only of the above who can be read in his own words, as he kept diaries, some of which can still be read today.

When reading on these men, distrust what even the contemporary historians say, since they are as partisan as Rush Limbaugh and their bias slips through.

Plutarch was politically conservative, and repeats the conservative lies about Julius Caesar's gender orientation as easily as old Rush talks about JFK boffing Marilyn Monroe in the Oval Office. John Kenneth Galbraith, who had the office next to the Oval one, insists that he would have known about the latter, and Caesar was infamous for debauching the wives of his opponents. Believe what you will.

Suetonius was trying to suck up to Hadrian and get his old job back, so he was willing to discredit any member of the Claudio Julian line. Livy was more unbiased, but his later writings are lost and very little remains pertaining to this time period.

If you do read them, be prepared to see some startling similarities to the American Republic, that might be disturbing if you love your liberty.

Answer 2

An important consideration that is not mentioned in the above answers was the cause of disenfranchisement. The Roman army under the Republic was a citizen-soldier army. To be a legionnaire one had to own land and be citizen. While the soldiers were on campaign, landlords-tax collectors were able to purchase land that was seized from the small landholders, as the families often could not pay the taxes.
The grachii tried to legislate protection for this class that was serving the Republic.

This theme occurs over and over again in history including the American Revolution and even today.

Answer 3

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Who were the Gracchus Brothers from the Roman Republic?
If anyone can help with this. I need to write an essay for my world history class about the actions of the Gracchus Brothers (Marius, Sulla, and Julius Caesar) and the effects of those actions in the Roman Republic?

Answer 4

Gracchus Brothers

Answer 5

The legacy of the Gracchi brothers was one of social upheaval and the eventual disintegration of the Roman political and governing system. Their violent deaths were the first of many more political riots and executions to come over the next 100 years. Traditional powers of the Senate and the people were being torn apart, rebuilt and torn apart again. Ambitious politicians now had many new ways to exploit a system teetering on collapse and powerful men and political parties began to develop in extreme polar opposites. The voice of violence, riots and mob tactics was quickly to become the mainstay throughout the perilous era in Roman history. The Senate even, once steadfast in cooperation against the Tribunes of the Plebes, now even began to splinter off against one another. With the fast rise and fall of the Brothers Gracchi, the stage was set for the rise of Marius, Sulla, Pompey and the eventual last dictator, Gaius Julius Caesar

Answer 6

Gracchi Brothers

Answer 7

The Gracchi brothers, Tiberius and Gaius, went down in history as martyrs to the cause of social reform. Tiberius was killed by members of the Roman Senate for attempting to make the system friendlier to the lower classes of Rome. They tried to limit the size of the large farms that the patricians (upper class) owned to keep the plebeians (lower class) able to compete with their smaller farms. Gaius and many of his followers were killed in 121 BC owing to the Senate being made up of patricians who owned large farms.

Answer 8

They're often referred to as 'the Gracchi' - often with terms such as rebellion or conspiracy thrown in. Gaius and Tiberius, as I recall, were their names. Big Juli was a friend and associate in his young days, I believe. Wiki or a google would probably get you off to a good start.

Answer 9

I can't top the above poster's comments but wanted to add that the Gracchus brothers were so hated and disliked that they were litterally beaten to death with chairs by their fellow senators in the forum. OUCH!