Tarquin and the Roman Republic

Tarquin the Proud had no reason to be proud of how he became king, and what happened afterwards. First, his father died so his mother made Servius Tullius the king. S.T's daughter (Tullia) killed her sister and her husband, so she could marry Tarquin. Tarquin then, with the influence of Tullia, seizes the throne by throwing S.T. out on the street to be assassinated. Tullia also ran over his dead body with her chariot. Years later, Tarquin's son Sextus forced a girl to sleep with him, and she told her family before killing herself. The people of Rome got angry at Tarquin and his family, so the Romans expelled them from Rome. The horrible family of Tarquin the Proud made the Romans not want another king, so they can up with a republic. To replace a kingly role, the Romans added two consuls who's duties were dealing justice, making law, and commanding the army. They could only hold office for one year, and they could veto each other. Of course these two powerful positions could only be help be patricians. In the fifth century B.C., the plebeians started to challenge the patrician dominance in their government. This makes sense because the plebeians made up 98% of the population and were forced to serve in the army, but they help no political power. The patricians usually could interpret the laws how they wanted too, but the plebeians refused to serve in the army until there were written laws that were posted in public and they had representatives in the government. The plebeians got what they wanted and it was The Twelve Tables and tribunes. The Roman republic model of government is used today by The United States of America, but also changed a bit. Although they aren't the exact same, both the USA and the ancient Romans have three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. They also both have a legal code. In the executive branch, the USA has a president with a vice president who has less power. The Roman executive branch has the two consuls who have the same power. Both the presidents and consuls have veto power, short terms, and command their armies. One difference is that consuls could appoint a dictator in time of crisis, but the American president stays in office in the time of crisis. The similarity of their legislative branches is both have a Senate and some kind of assembly, but the USA gives them limited time in office and more members than the Roman legislative branch has. The judicial branches of the two countries are different because the USA's is a Supreme Court with nine life-time members appointed by the president and the Senate. Ancient Rome's judicial branch is praetors chosen by the assembly and have one-year terms. The legal code for the ancient Romans is the Twelve Tables, and the legal code for the USA is the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. Both give equal rights to its citizens, but American citizens can be all people instead of just free-born men.