Italy did not form a single state under Roman rule. About
one-third of Italy composed the strictly Roman territory occupied by Roman
citizens. Since ancient Rome knew nothing of the great principle of
representative government, it was necessary that citizens who wished to
vote or to stand for office should visit in person the capital city. Few men,
of course, would journey many miles to Rome in order to exercise their
political rights. The elections, moreover, were not all held on one day, as
with us, but consuls, praetors, and other magistrates were chosen on different
days, while meetings of the assemblies might be held at any time of the year. A
country peasant who really tried to fulfill his duties as a citizen would have
had little time for anything else. In practice, therefore, the city populace at
Rome had the controlling voice in ordinary legislation. The Romans were never
able to remedy this grave defect in their political system. We shall see later
what evils government without representation brought in its train.
THE ITALIANS
Over against this body of Roman citizens were the Italian
peoples. Rome was not yet ready to grant them citizenship, but she did not
treat them as complete subjects. The Italians were called the "allies and
friends" of the Roman people. They lost the right of declaring war on one
another, of making treaties, and of coining money. Rome otherwise allowed them
to govern themselves, never calling on them for tribute and only requiring that
they should furnish soldiers for the Roman army in time of war. These allies
occupied a large part of the Italian peninsula.
