Velasco, Sofia

World History

Mr. Wisner

Period 3

October 6, 2016

Romes Citizenship System was Superior than Athens

Will Rogers once said, We will never have true civilization until we have learned to

recognize the rights of others. Around 500 B.C.E, a new idea was created on the Greek and

Italian peninsulas of the Mediterranean sea. This idea was that people should be citizens of their

state or empire, and that this citizenship should not only include their duties and responsibilities,

but also their rights. As a result of this idea, Rome proved to have a superior system of

citizenship than Athens because women had rights, more people could become citizens, and their

system was more organized.

In Rome, free and native-born adult females were granted citizenship along with limited

rights (Doc A). These qualified women, unlike women in Athens, had the right to own property.

This proves that Romes citizenship system exceeded Athens because women could be

independent by growing crops, establishing trade, and financially supporting themselves and

their families. In the same way, Rome also granted certain citizenships to children, sons of freed

slaves, and foreigners.

Rome, contrary to Athens, gave more people the opportunity to obtain citizenships. In

Rome, citizenships were not only provided to free, native-born men and women, but were also

given to: native-born children with citizen parents, sons of freed slaves, and even foreigners (Doc

A, Doc C). To contrast, Athens system only allowed free, native-born men to become citizens
(Doc A). Rome demonstrates a better system than Athens because citizen children could one day

become citizens as adults, sons of freed slaves could improve their social condition, and

foreigners had the ability to be citizens and receive rights in a non-native land. The citizenships

were given to Latini, Foederati, and Peregrini foreigners (Doc C). Latini and Foederati aliens

were people who could become citizens and enjoy limited rights. The Peregrini were foreigners

in conquered lands that in some cases, could enjoy full citizenship. Giving these foreigners

certain types of citizenships and rights initialized trust towards the Roman Republic, which

furthermore strengthened their system. Romes system was superior to Athens not only because

it gave more people the opportunity to become citizens with rights, but because it managed to do

so in an orderly and organized manner.

The Roman citizenship system was more advanced than Athens because of its organized,

clean, and orderly Senate. The Roman Senate had approximately 300 members (Doc F). In

contrast, the Athenian Assembly had 40,000 citizens that were eligible to attend (Doc E). The

smaller size of the Roman Senate provided a calm environment for ideas to be heard, orderly

discussed with reason and understanding, and eventually applied. On the other hand, the

Athenian Assembly was crowded, had poor conditions, and provided a minimal opportunity for

ideas to be properly shared, analyzed, and heard by others. The Athenian Assembly was

inadequately and defectively organized when compared to the Roman Senate, which supports the

superiority of the Roman citizenship system.

The citizenship system established by Rome was better than Athens. Rome provided

eligible women, children, and foreigners with different types of citizenships, which gave them

rights and opportunities. Unlike Athens, Rome allowed for more people to enjoy their rights,
which in return established trust towards the Roman Republic. Romes Senate also revealed the

superiority of their system by governing with order, cleanliness, and organization.