Roman Republic vs. American Government

AP Psychology	Current Events	Resource Room (SETSS)
Period 1	Periods 3 & 5	Period 8
Mr. Ott	Mr. Ott	Mr. Ott

Essential Question: How is the Roman Republic similar/different to American Government?

Opening Move/Do Now: What is a republic?

Lesson Overview:

Item	Approx Time
Opening Move	3-5 Min
Activity	30 Min
Discussion	10 Min

Lesson Background & Content

THE ROMAN REPUBLIC In many ways, the Roman Republic was very similar to the way in which the United States government is organized today. There are three clear divisions of power, as you will see below.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH Consuls: Elected by an assembly; ruled as chief executives for one year; controlled the military

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Senate: Consisted of 300 members; chosen by aristocrats and responsible for foreign affairs and financial policies Centuriate Assembly: A group of citizen soldiers that were members for life; elected consuls and drafted/passed legislation Tribal Assembly: Citizens put into groups depending on where they lived; members for life; elected tribunes

JUDICIAL BRANCH Praetors: Eight judges chosen by the Centuriate Assembly to serve for a year; two of the eight supervised civil court and criminal court

LEGAL CODE ​The Twelve Tables was similar to the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments of the Constitution), but it only protected free-born male citizens under the law.

CITIZENSHIP Given to adult man landowners.

ONE MAJOR DIFFERENCE Dictators: Appointed by consuls and elected by the Senate in a time of catastrophe; power lasted for six months

THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC The Founding Fathers of The United States borrowed some of the elements of government from Rome, yet developed and added quite a few innovations. Unlike Rome, checks and balances came from the workings of three areas of government: a President, who was responsible for the jobs of Commander in Chief of the military, could appoint ambassadors to conduct foreign policy, and could propose laws to the Legislative Branch; the Legislative Branch is bicameral, including both a Senate, whose members are elected for six year terms, and a House of Representatives, whose members are elected for two year terms. Both houses need to agree on a law before it is sent to the President for signature. Finally, they created an independent Judiciary known as the Supreme Court whose job it was to ensure that laws passed by the Legislature were consistent with the U.S. Constitution.

WHICH IS BETTER? The Roman government, though advanced for its time, was wrought with corruption and instability. The Senate would usually have more power over the Executive branch and there was very little independence among the branches of government, which tended to be heavily influenced by dominant political faction. The United States distributes its power relatively evenly. Because each state has both local and national (federal) representatives, it helps promote the interests of the people in a way that Roman government did not. The American Republic is a lot more evolved and refined then that of Ancient Rome.

Classwork & Homework

Lesson Video:

• Republic verses Democracy
• The Government of the Roman Republic
• Is America Really a Democracy?

Lesson Activity:

• Roman Republic vs. American Government DBQ
• Roman Republic vs. American Government Paragraph

Homework: Courseworks Plus - Login Needed

Special Education Modifications

• Teaching Model: Co-Teaching
• Special Education Teacher will work with All students General Ed and Special Ed.
  • Special Ed Students:
    • Teacher will read-aloud to students when necessary.
    • Teachers will break down assignments into smaller tasks.
    • Teachers will work with students on vocabulary acquisition by breaking down words into prefixes/suffixes and etymology.
    • Teachers will group students according to learning style inventory as a homogeneous group.
    • Teachers will keep students on-task by managing distractions and on-task behavior.
    • Teachers will modify note-taking by modeling notes from PowerPoint to chalkboard/whiteboard.
    • Teachers will differentiate lessons by using; verbal cues for auditory learners, graphic organizers for visual learners, and hands-on cues for tactile learners.