5/7

Today in Western Civilization we talked for a little while. After, Mr. Schick's computer wasn't working so he asked if anyone had a computer like his. Some people did but their computer was about to die. We ended up just watching the video individually on our own computers. I didn't have earbuds so I had to watch it without them. I shared my computer with Callie because she didn't have earbuds either. Then we both could hear more easily instead of having two computer playing out loud.

5/6

Today in Western Civilization we took notes. Here are the notes that I took.

Roman Legion

-5,000 soldiers, not in it for pay (not yet)

            -The Roman army’s elite heavy infantry

            -Recruited exclusively from Roman citizens

            -Group of eighty – century

            -On horseback – cavalry

            -Shield, sword, dagger and tunic

Punic Wars in Carthage

-The Punic Wars (264 – 146 BCE)

-Rome vs. Carthage

-Three wars

Two Empires fighting for control

First Punic War – (264 – 241 BCE)

-Naval battle for control of the strategically located of Sicily

-Rome wins this one

The (Carthaginian) Empire Strikes Back

Second Punic War (218 – 201 BCE)

-29 year old Carthage general Hannibal almost does the impossible taking Rome

-Attacks Rome from the North after crossing Iberia and the Alps

-Lays siege too much of the peninsula for 15 years, but could never get back to Rome

Third and Final Punic War (149 – 146 BCE)

-Rome wanted to finally remove the threat of Carthage

-Scipio, Tiberius Gracchus, and others mercilessly attached the city

-Carthage was burned for 17 days, the city’s walls and buildings were utterly destroyed

-When the war ended, the last 50,000 people in the city was sold into slavery

-The rest of Carthage’s territories were annexed, and made into the Roman province of Africa

Total Destruction; end of an empire

-Marcus Portius Cato the Elder was a politician who ended every speech by saying, “Delenda Carthage est.” which means Carthage must be destroyed

-He got his wish

Economic Change; Social Upheavels

-Slaves poured into Italy (50,000 Carthaginians, 150,000 Greek POWs, etc.)

-By the end of the Second Century BCE there was over a million slaves in Italy

-Small farmers lost their land to aristocrats (for little or no money) if they couldn’t pay their debts, sometimes because the men of the farm were fighting battles

-Slaves did the work on the farms for the rich

-The big farms became massive estates called latifundia

5/4

Today in Western Civilization we took notes. Here are the notes I took.

Patricians

Rule of Kings is replaced by rule of two consuls

-Consuls are elected officials

-Term of office: one year

-Always aristocrats (patricians)

-Patricians traced their descent from a famous ancestor or “pater” (father)

-Duties: dealing justice, making law, commanding the army

-One consul could veto the other (reducing the power of the individual)

Plebeians

-Fifth century BCE – Patrician dominance of the government was challenged by the plebs (“people”)

-Plebs were 98% of the population

-How did the Patricians dominate?

            -Plebs had to serve in the army

            -But could not hold office

            -Plebs were threatened with debt slavery

            -Plebs had no legal rights

-Plebs were victims of discriminatory decisions in judicial trials

-Rome had no actual laws, just unwritten customs

-Patricians cold interpret these to their own advantage

So, plebs refused to serve in the military until…

-Laws were written out – The Law of the Twelve Tables

-These laws (on tablets) were posted in public (in 450 BCE)

-Tribunes “tribal leaders” were elected

SPQR – Senatus Populusque Romanum

-Designates any decree or decision made by “the Roman Senate and People”

Res publica – the people’s affairs

Brand new republic, ready to run

-Democracy (the people’s assembly and the tribunes)

-Aristocracy (the Senate – approx. 300 members)

-Plus monarchy (the Consuls)

-Not a tyranny

Gov’t. : ancient Roman/ USA

-Originally, the US modeled their new government on the model used by the ancient Romans

-Not exactly the same

-But both have 3 branches of government

            -Executive

            -Legislative

            -Judicial

-And both have a legal code

3 branches (1) – Rome/USA

Rome

-Executive

            -Two consuls

            -One-year terms

            -Each has veto power

            -Controls the military

            -Could appoint a dictator in a crisis for a six-month term

USA

-Executive

            -President (and VP)

            -Four-year terms

            -Can veto proposed laws

            -Commander in Chief

3 branches (2) – Rome/USA

Rome

-Legislative

            -Senate – 300 people – aristocrats – members for life

            -Assemblies

USA

-Legislative

            -Senate – 100 senates (two from each state) six-year terms

            -House of Representatives – 435 members

3 branches (3) – Rome/USA

Rome

-Judicial

            -Praetors

            -Chosen by the Centuriate Assembly

            -One-year terms

USA

-Judicial

            -Supreme Court

            -Nine members

            -Appointment by the president, confirmed by the Senate

-Lifetime terms

Legal Code – Rome/USA

Rome

-Twelve Tables

-Publically displayed

-Gave rights to plebeians, not just aristocrats

-Only protected free – born male citizens (not women)

USA

-Bill of Rights

-First ten amendments to Constitution

5/1

Today in Western Civilization Mr. Schick took the class up to a 1920's Speak Easy event type thing. I really enjoyed this because I found it interesting to hear all of the different stories. I couldn't pick a favorite because I enjoyed everyone. Some were very energetic and enthusiastic about their character. I'm happy that we got to do this because I liked walking around and learning.

4/30

Today in Western Civilization we took notes on the Etruscans, the Greeks, and the Latins. Here are the notes I wrote.

Etruscans

• came from the north-central part of the peninsula
• metal workers, artists, architects
• two foundation myths: Vigil's Aeneid (Where Aeneas escapes from Troy), plus the story of Remus and Romulus
• What we know about them mainly comes from their paintings

Who else settled Rome?

Greeks

-They had many colonies around the Mediterranean Sea

-Romans borrowed ideas from them, such as:

            -Religious beliefs

            -Alphabet

            -Much of their art

            -Military techniques and weaponry

But who first settled there?

The Latins

-Descendants of Indo-Europeans

-Settled on the banks of the Tiber

-Situated so trading ships – but not war fleets – could navigate as far as Rome

-A commercial part, but not susceptible…

They drained a swamp

-Many streams flowed into the Tiber

-There was a marshy area called the Forum, between Palentine and Capitoline Hill

-Tarquin the Proud’s grandfather built the Cloaca Maxima (largest ancient drain), which channeled water into the Tiber

Tarquin

-Lucius Tarquinias Superbus

-The seventh and final king of Rome

-Known as Tarquin the Proud (sometimes referred to as Tarquin the arrogant)

-A true tyrant, in the old and modern sense of the word

-The people’s shock at the horrible behavior of Tarquin’s son and this horrible family made them never want to be subject to the rule of kings ever again – this was an attitude that lasted for centuries

4/29

Today in Western Civilization we talked about our projects with our partners. Sydney, Nikki, and I are making a coliseum and two desserts that the high class Romans would eat. We are making the coliseum out of a laundry basket. I have to get the spray paint and the laundry basket. The other supplies we need are foam, Roman characters, the ingredients for the food, notecards, sand, and possibly a poster board. These supplies would probably seem very odd to someone who didn't know what the project was but I think it will turn out very well. We might meet on Sunday to work on it and get the majority of the project done. I am going to try to get my supplies on Friday.

4/27

Today in Western Civilization we had to find 5 facts about Circus Maximus, Colosseum, aqueducts, and the Roman Forum on websites that have real facts. This was extremely hard because most of the websites that come up first are not verifiable. I had a very hard time finding websites that could be used. We talked about how we can figure out if they are verifiable or not. I learned that not all we sites with .org are reliable. People pay to have .org, .com, and .net. There are only two that cannot be bought: .gov and .edu.