s refused to serve in the army until they got their way. As Livy said, "The Patricians dreaded the Plebians [who were striking].... How long could it be supposed that the multitude which had seceded would remain inactive? And what would be the consequence if in the meantime a foreign war should break out? No glimpse of hope could they see left except in concord between the citizens, which must be re-established in the state on any terms." (Nardo 28)In 494 BC, the Patricians gave up and allowed the striking Plebs their own council, called the Popular Assembly, which excluded Patricians. This assembly couldn't make laws, but they elected ten tribunes each year who had the power of veto. The Patricians pronounced the validity of decisions made by the assembly. As the Republic grew older, it became more complicated. The Assembly had to elect officials to help. They elected eight praetors, or court judges, four aediles, whomanaged public streets and buildings, two censores, who took censuses, admitted new senators and collected taxes, and twenty five quaestores, or financial officers. In 450 BC, the Plebs demanded that the laws of Rome be written down so that the praetors couldn't twist the law in their favor. They were written down on the Twelve Tables. An example of a law from the Twelve Tables was,"If plaintiff summons defendant to court, he shall go. If he does not go, plaintiff shall call witness [to this]. Then only shall he take the defendant [to court] by force." (Nardo 28-29)The Tribunes of the Plebs protected the Plebs from unjustness, and the Plebs protected them by threatening to strike. As time went on, Patrician control over Plebians gradually decreased, until in 366 BC, the Plebs were allowed to become consul. Soon it became a custom to elect one Pleb and one Patrician (Nardo 28). In 287 BC, the Popular Assembly gained the right to make laws.Rome was ever expanding. In 496 BC, Rome conquered Latium. In 449 BC, the Sabines fell...
