Why was the Roman Republic not a true democracy?

Around 500 BC, the Roman aristocrats, who were rich landowners, decided they didn’t want to be ruled by kings anymore. These rich people wanted more power for themselves. But they couldn’t get rid of the kings all by themselves. They needed the poor men to fight for them. So, they promised the poor men that they would have a lot of power in the new government; if they would help get rid of the kings.

But once the kings were out, the Roman aristocrats didn’t want to give the poor men any power. So, the leaders of the poor men moved out-side the city, and went on strike. They refused to work anymore unless they got some power. The Roman aristocrats had to give in to them, and this was the beginning of the Roman Republic.

However, the Roman Republic was not a democracy. It consisted of patricians- or the rich and powerful families- and the plebeians, or ordinary farmers and merchants. Only patricians were allowed into the Roman Senate, which made all the important decisions. This made the plebeians very unhappy, and they demanded more rights. They made the aristocrats agree that the poor men could also elect representatives called tribunes.

Tribunes had to be chosen from the poor people, and they went to all the meetings of the Senate. They could veto anything the Senate did which would be detrimental to the interests of the poor people. Veto means ‘I forbid it’ in Latin and it meant that the tribunes could forbid any law that was bad for the poor.