The government of the Roman Republic was established with consideration for the need for checks and balances and separation of powers. The term “tripartite” refers to the three different locales of political power in the Roman Republic — the Senate, the Consuls, and the Assemblies. The government of the Roman Republic was established in this manner in an attempt to prevent tyranny and to discourage one man or one group from dominating all of Roman society.

In the Roman Republic there were many different types of assemblies, all of which had different degrees of power. Some assemblies were comprised of all Roman citizens and were responsible for electing magistrates, enacting laws, and conducting legal trials. Other assemblies included councils, like the Council of Plebeians, which passed laws that only affected the plebeians (common people of Rome). The authority of various assemblies waxed and waned throughout the history of the Roman Republic, as different governing institutions squabbled with one another for political power.

The Secession of the Plebeians took place in 494 BCE. It is best described as a general strike, organized by the common people of Rome, to gain political power. There were other plebeian secessions throughout the history of the Roman Republic, such as the one carried out in 449 BCE, which was done to ensure the patricians would enact the Law of Twelve Tables. The plebeians would “secede” from the Republic in order to pressure the patricians into accepting reforms that would make the lives of plebeians better.

In the very early years of the Roman Republic, power and wealth was concentrated in the hands of the landowning aristocratic class, called the patricians. The plebeians, the common people of Rome, had little political power and were subject to forced enslavement and unequal protection before the law. The patricians and plebeians competed for political power throughout the history of the Roman Republic. One notable incident occurred with the Secession of the Plebs in 494 BCE (which began the two centuries long Struggle of Orders). The Plebeians basically abdicated responsibility for the maintenance of the city and carried out something like a “general strike.” This, most significantly, included the threat to withhold military service and force the patricians to fight to defend themselves.

Tiberius Gracchus was a populares politician and tribune in the second century BCE. He is most notable for his failed attempts at land reform within the Roman Republic — specifically his attempts at confiscating land from the wealthy and redistributing it among the poor. Tiberius was opposed by most of the powerful factions within Rome and was eventually murdered on the orders of the Roman Senate.

The armies of the Roman Republic were generally divided according to wealth and social status. Before the Marian Reforms of 107 BCE opened up military service to all members of Roman society, an individual had to be sufficiently wealthy to join the Roman military. Criteria for joining included being a member of the taxpaying classes and the ownership of substantial property.