Athens & Rome Citizenship Mit Citizenship in Athens and Rome: Which Was the Better System? Overview: The right to be a citizen of a country is not a modern idea. In faet, the laws for being a citizen in the United States today trace back thousands of years to ancient Athens and Rome. This Mini-Q looks at how citizenship worked in these two great early societies and asks you to decide which system was best. The Documents: Document A: Athens and Rome: Who Could Be a Citizen? (chart) Document B: Citizenship in Athens Document C: Citizenship in the Roman Republic Document D: Controlling Citizenship in Athens and Rome Document E: Participation in the Government of Athens, Document F: Participation in the Government of Rome ‘A Mini Document Based Question (Mini-Q) 125 (e2011 T9080 Poss This page may be reproduced for classroom useAthens & Rome Citizenship Mini-Q Hook Exercise: Who Can Be A Citizen? Part I Directions: As of 2011, everyone born in the United States, or born to U.S. citizens overseas, automatically becomes a U.S. citizen. However, for an adult immigrant to become a U.S. citizen, he or she must go through a process called naturalization, which includes the eight requirements listed below. With a partner, discuss each requirement. Then check whether or not you support it. If you and your partner disagree, make two check marks, Do Not Support Support 1, Must be at least 18 years of age Q Q 2. Must have been legally admitted to the U.S. (holder of a green card) a 3. Must have lived in the United States for at least five years (if single) Q 4, Must have lived in the United States for at least three years (if married to a U.S. citizen) Qa a 5. Must have no prison record Q Q 6. Must be able to speak, read, and write English Qa a 7. Must pass a test on U.S. history and the Constitution Q a 8. Must swear allegiance (loyalty) to the United States Q Q Part IT ‘There have been proposals to add other citizenship requirements. Which of the following would you support? 1, Must perform one year of national service, either in the military or a public agency like a school or the National Park Service. 2, Must have graduated from high school or received a GED certificate. 3. Must be in school, have proof of employment, or proof of a net worth of $100,000. 127 (02011 e000 Pret This page may be reproduced for classroom useBackground Essay Athens & Rome Citizenship Mini-Q Citizenship in Athens and Rome: Which Was the Better System? About 500 BCE, on the Greek and Ital- ian peninsulas of the Mediterranean Sea, a new idea began to take shape. This was the notion that people were citizens of a state or empire, ‘and that being a citizen meant not only meet- ing certain responsibilities, but also enjoying certain rights. Before this time, in places like Egypt, Babylonia, and ancient China, individu- als were generally regarded as subjects, not as citizens. Power was largely in the hands of a pharaoh, king, or emperor and the thousands of administrators who carried out the ruler’s command. But by the sixth century BCE, a new idea was emerg- ing: that ordinary people should play a more significant role in the life of the state. Citizenship is a status, or standing, given by a govern- ment to some or all of its people. In the modern world, citizenship often involves a bal- ance between individual rights, such as the right to vote, and individual responsibilities, such as the duty to serve one’s country. This balance has been called the social contract theory of citizenship. The individual does his or her part; the nation or state does its part. Itis probably accurate to say that in the city-state of Athens, the emphasis was more on citizen responsibility than citizen rights. The great Athenian leader Pericles said that Athe- nians who did not fully participate in voting, po- litical debate, and holding office were “useless.” The Greek philosopher Aristotle did him one better by declaring such Athenians to be beasts. Itseems that many Athenians agreed. Partici- ating in government and making the city-state work was simply what good citizens should do. Citizenship was an action verb. In Rome, the idea of a good citizen was a bit different. During the years of the Roman Republic, from $09 BCE until roughly 27 BCE, Roman citizenship qualifications and rights fluc- tuated but hovered around those described in this Mini-Q. Unlike Athenians, a Roman citizen was judged more by how he behaved with his family, his neighbors, and his property. A Roman citizen who did not participate in local government would not likely have been called a beast. It is important to note that compat- ing Athens and Rome | is in some ways like comparing a flea and an elephant. Athens in 400 BCE had a population of about 300,000, including slaves. The Roman Empire had an esti- mated population in 1 CE of about 45,000,000, perhaps 15 percent of the world’s population, Athens, a land-locked city-state, was about the size of Rhode Island. The Roman Republie (see map) was huge. In Athens and Rome, citizenship was something to be honored and protected. Not everyone could have it, and those who did had a special relationship to the state. The documents that follow should help deepen your understand- ing of how Athenians and Romans viewed the ‘matter. Imagine life as a citizen of Athens and as a citizen of Rome. Then address the question: Citizenship in Athens and Rome: Which was the better system? 129 This page may be reproduced for classroom useSource: Document A hart created from various sources, ‘Athens & Rome Citizenship Mini-Q Athens and Rome: Who Could Be a Citizen? Free, native-born adult males Free, native-born adult females Free, native-born male children Female children Slaves Freed slaves Sons of freed slaves Athens Yes No Roman Republic Yes Yes Yes Requirements Athens: If parents were free-born Athenians Rome: If parents were married in certain areas of Roman Empire Rome: But had limited rights. Could ‘own property, but could not vote or hold public office. Athens: First, had to complete educa- tion and two years of military training before being granted citizenship Rome: At birth, if parents were citizens Rome: At birth if parents were citizens e2011 me Ds0 Pret 131 This page may be reproduced for classroom useAthens & Rome Citizenship Mini-Q Document B Source: From a speech tiled “The Polly of Athenians"by The Old Oligarch, circa 424 BCE. Note: The identity of The Old Oligarch (an oligarch is a person of power) is unknown, 201 me 080 Poet “T shall say that at Athens [...] it is the poor which mans the fleet and has brought the state her power, and the steersmen and the boatswains and the shipmasters and the lookout-men and the shipwrights — these have brought the state her power much rather than the ... best-born and the elite. This being so, it seems right that all should have a share in offices filled by lot [lottery] or by election, and that any citizen who wishes should be allowed to speak... For if the poor and the common people and the worse elements are treated well, the growth of these classes will exalt [glorify] the democracy...” This page may be reproduced for classroom use 133 CJAthens & Rome Citizenship Mini-Q Document C Source: From a speech by Claucius, Emperor of Rome, 48 CE and other varied sources, In Athens, once citizenship was granted, citizens enjoyed equal rights and full politi- cal participation. In the Roman Republic, not all citizens received the same rights or the same political participation. But there is a reason for this. Hear first the words of Emperor Claudius responding to criticism for giving citizenship to the people of Gaul (modern-day France) soon after conquering them: “What was the ruin of Sparta and Athens, but this, that mighty as they were in wat, they spurned from them as aliens [foreigners] those whom they had conquered? Our founder Ro- ‘ulus, on the other hand, was so wise that he fought as enemies and then hailed as fellow- citizens several nations on the very same day.” In other words, the Athenians were more stingy with their citizenship. The Romans more freely gave it away. But they gave it away in measured amounts. For example: 1. Latini — people from regions outside Rome but on the Italian peninsula ~ were granted a class of citizenship with the right to do business and to travel and live within the Empire but not to an official Roman marriage. 2. Foederati — citizens of states with treaty obligations with Rome — were given limited rights in return for performing military service. 3. Peregrini — foreigners in conquered lands ~ could be given full or partial citizenship, Claudius did give citizenship to the people of Gaul after he conquered them. 135 ‘e201 D0 Piet “This page may be reproduced for classroom use‘Athens & Rome Citizenship Mini-Q Document D Source: Diodorus Siculus, History, Book XI, written between 60 and 30 BCE, And the law is as follows: Each citizen wrote the name of the man who in his opinion had the greatest power to destroy the democracy; and the man who got the largest number of ostraka was obliged to go into exile from his native land for a period of ten years. ‘The Athenians, it appears, passed such a law, not for the purpose of punishing wrongdoing, but in order to lower through exile the [position] of men who had risen too high. Now Themiostocles, having been ostracized in the manner we have described, fled as an exile from his native city to Argos.. Note: Only one ostraka, or ostracism, was permitted in Athens per year. ‘Source: Peter Walsh, “In the Realm of the Censors: From the Coliseum to Capitol Hill” Boston Review, February 1991. In conducting the census of the Roman population, the censors (they were elected in pairs) not only counted Rome's citizens but ... ranked them into distinct classes... ‘The censors’ ranking, based on wealth, heritage [family standing), administrative competence, marital status, and physical and moral fitness, determined the citizen's political privileges, his level of taxation, and his military service. Anyone who didn’t meet the standards of the censors could be demoted in rank. If the offender was a senator, this meant expulsion from the Senate. "Note: The Roman census was conducted every five years. (©2011 meDBO Pret This page may be reproduced for classroom use 137Athens & Rome Citizenship Mini-Q Document E ‘Source: Illustration rom The Greek World by Anton Powell, Routledge Press, 1987. The Athenian Assembly ‘The Athenian Assembly met 40 times @ year on a hillside called Pyx, near the ‘Acropolis. The site had excellent acoustics. All of Athens’s 40,000 citizens were ited, though travel made Six thousand were necessary for a quorum on important issues such as ostracism. Athenians chose their officials, including the Council of 500 ( ‘executive committee that ov saw the Assembly), by lot from the general citizenry. 139 ‘0201 Tene Piet “This page may be reproduced for classroom useAthens & Rome Citizenship Mi Document F ‘Source: A fresco of the Roman Senate painted by Italian artist Cesare Macca in the 1880s. The Roman Senate BCE), members of the Roman Senate (about 300 ‘men) served for life. They usually came from the oldest Roman families and inherited their seats ‘The Senate had primary responsibilities for foreign ‘Though it started as an relations, including selecting ambassadors, making advisory body to Roman treaties, and ereating alliances. They were responsi- kings, by the third century ble for war policy, and for the control of public Iands.. BCE, the Senate had full ‘The Senate also tried cases of treason and conspiracy. governing power in Rome. 141 (©2011 D0 Pet ‘This page may be reproduced for classroom use