The Struggle of the Orders and Tiberius Gracchus

     What specific changes occurred in Roman society as a result of the Struggle of the Orders?
      The Struggle of the Orders was a significant time in Roman history, when society was divided into two major classes: the Plebeians and the Patricians. Patricians were powerful and wealthy and controlled Rome's political scene, while Plebeians were the "servant" class, and the freedoms they were afforded were few and insignificant. There was no shifting between the classes: in order to be a Patrician, you had to be born a Patrician. No matter how hard the Plebeians tried to lobby for their freedoms and rights, the Patricians were only ever concerned with their own affairs over their servants'. The only things that the Plebeians truly owned with which they could effectively rebel were their own bodies – because the lower class greatly outnumbered the upper, the Plebeians decided to peaceably leave Rome altogether, depriving the entire upper class of their servants and subjects.

     Having proven that they did indeed have some sway over the Patricians, who immediately begged for them to return, the Plebeians went back to Rome with a new resolve to change the way they were being treated. Because of this peaceful struggle, some things in Roman society were changed for the Plebeians: Intermarriage between the classes was allowed for the first time, allowing one to enter a class he had not been born into, the practice of enslaving those who owed you debts was abolished, and by the year 342 BC a Plebeian was actually made a Roman consul.

     Why did Tiberius Gracchus attract so much suspicion from the Roman Senate?

      Tiberius Gracchus was a Roman tribune who was fond of doing things the wrong way, meaning that he would do things the way he deemed would be most efficient instead of sticking to traditional means. The first notable instance of this occurred when the soldiers of the Roman military were returning from the Punic Wars, only to find their land ravaged by the struggles of the war. Desperate not to starve, many of these soldiers sold off their land, expecting to find jobs in the cities – not realizing that most of the jobs they would have done were already being done by slaves. Faced with this new joblessness, the veterans tried to re-enlist in the army, only to be told that they could not enlist since they had no land. Rome was left with a lot of poor, hungry, jobless veterans who had nowhere to go and nothing to do. Tiberius Gracchus sought to change this by taking land from wealthy individuals whom he deemed did not need it, and distributing it among the veterans. Not only would the soldiers now have land to work, but their possession of land would make them eligible to join the military again, thus swelling Rome's army with thousands of men who were grateful and indebted to Tiberius Gracchus.

      But instead of going to the Senate with this proposal, as was the traditional route, Tiberius Gracchus went directly to the Concilium Plebis, a move which angered the Senate so much that even when the Concilium Plebis voted to pass the proposal, the Senate refused to fund it. Cut short of funds, it looked as if the plan would have to be dropped – except soon afterward, the kingdom of Pergamum was passed into the control of Rome when its king died. Tiberius Gracchus now decided to tax Pergamum directly in order to fund his project, which made the senate even angrier because he – as a tribune – had no legal power to levy taxes. Tiberius Gracchus's fellow tribune, Marcus Octavius, on a prompt from the Senate, finally decided to veto the project – which only made Tiberius Gracchus see him as an obstacle to be removed. Soon afterward Marcus Octavius was deposed as tribune by Tiberius Gracchus's deciding vote, leaving the path clear for Tiberius's Gracchus's plans.

      The final blow came when Tiberius Gracchus ran for a second term as tribune in order to see his plan carried out, a move which was forbidden by Roman law. The Senate was now fed up with him and the trouble he was causing them. At last, at a political meeting with the tribune, the Senate witnessed Tiberius Gracchus make a gesture which they interpreted as calling for a crown – when in reality he had merely been communicating to his friends that he thought he was in danger by gesturing to his head, but the irate Senate did not see it that way. They broke the legs off chairs and beat Tiberius Gracchus to death with them.