I will be taking the Sup Western Civ test from 8:55- 9:45am on June 2nd. Poor Plebs How do you keep the plebs happy (or at least keep them from revolting) ? the poet Juvenal said Rome "anxiously hopes for two things: bread and circuses" bread(free grain from the state) and entertainment (Circus Maximus, Colosseum), partly to keep them alive, and partly to keep them quiet, distracted, and docile a change in rule Tiberius Gracchus recognized the advantages of courting the plebeians (even though he was ultimately unsuccessful) Military generals worked that angle - lead an army conquers a land, then give then a share in the spoils Soldiers' loyalty was to their military leader, not necessarily to Rome or the Republic nobody did that better than Caesar Julius Caesar (100 - 44 BCE) a highly successful general he conquered the huge territory of Gaul he could play the game (of politics) made common folks happy m...
The old Acrostic poem seems like the easy way out on this assignment.
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