Free people, women, children, enslaved people and foreigners in Athens and Rome

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   How a person's place could change (cards A to D; summaries in our words). Card A, Pericles's citizenship law (451 or 450 BCE), as reported in a book from Aristotle's school written about a century later: only people with two Athenian parents counted as citizens. Card B, Augustus's own record of Rome's citizen counts: 4,063,000 in 28 BCE; 4,233,000 in 8 BCE; 4,937,000 in 14 CE. Scholars disagree about whether the counts include women and children or only adult men. Card C, the edict of 212 CE: Emperor Caracalla gave Roman citizenship to nearly all free people in the empire; enslaved people were not included. Cassius Dio, a Roman senator who wrote a few years later, says Caracalla did it to raise money, since citizens paid certain taxes. Other scholars suggest other reasons. Card D, the Social War (91 to 88 BCE): Rome's allies in Italy, who had no vote in Rome, demanded citizenship. After fighting, Rome gave citizenship to most free people in Italy.

2. 1.

   Card B: citizens grew from 4,233,000 in 8 BCE to 4,937,000 in 14 CE. By how much, Ari asks?

   • 4,937,000, the whole count in 14 CE rather than the growth
   • 874,000, the growth since 28 BCE rather than since 8 BCE
   • 714,000, since 4,937,000 minus 4,233,000 is 714,000
   • 704,000, since 4,937,000 minus 4,233,000 is 704,000
3. 2.

   Card B: from 28 BCE to 14 CE the count rose from 4,063,000 to 4,937,000. About what share of the first count is the rise, Bo asks?

   • A little over one fifth, since 874,000 is about 21 percent of 4,063,000
   • About 18 percent, since the rise is compared with the later count of 4,937,000
   • About 874,000 percent, the size of the rise written as a share
   • About 2 percent, since 874,000 is a small part of the first count of 4,063,000
4. 3.

   A student says, "Card B proves Rome had almost five million men, women and children in 14 CE." How does card B answer, Esme asks?

   • Weak: card B says scholars disagree whether women and children were counted
   • Weak: a ruler's own record cannot be used for numbers of any kind
   • Strong: Augustus counted the people living in the empire, citizen or not
   • Strong: 4,937,000 is close to five million, so the count must include women and children
5. 4.

   Augustus wrote card B himself. What should a historian ask first about his figures, Jun asks?

   • Nothing yet, since an emperor's own record is the most accurate account of his reign
   • Whether to throw it out, since an emperor's record is made up from start to finish
   • Which modern book repeats the numbers, since a book is more trustworthy than a record
   • What the emperor wanted readers to see, and whether he counted the same way each time
6. 5.

   Cassius Dio says Caracalla extended citizenship to raise money. How should that claim be used, Kira asks?

   • As useless, since a senator would invent a reason for any decision
   • As one writer's explanation, weighed against other possible reasons
   • As the settled reason, since a senator knew the emperor's mind
   • As proof that Rome was ending, since taxes mean the empire was in decline
7. 6.

   How might an Italian ally in 91 BCE and a Roman senator have viewed citizenship for the allies, Luz asks?

   • The ally might see a fair claim to a share of rights; a senator might fear losing power
   • Both would agree it was fair, since the allies helped Rome in its wars
   • The ally might fear losing power; the senator might see a fair claim to a share of rights
   • Both would oppose it, since card D says the allies refused citizenship
8. 7.

   Cards C and D each widen citizenship. How do they differ in who received it, Noah asks?

   • Card D reached most free people in Italy; card C reached nearly all free people in the empire
   • Card D gave citizenship to the allies' leaders; card C gave it to Caracalla's friends
   • Card D included enslaved people in Italy; card C left enslaved people out
   • Card D reached nearly all free people in the empire; card C reached most free people in Italy
9. 8.

   Using card D, what chain led to more people in Italy becoming Roman citizens, Pia asks?

   • Allies who already had a vote fought to keep it, and Rome ended the war
   • Caracalla's edict came first and led the allies to fight for a vote
   • Rome offered citizenship to the allies first; they then refused it and went to war against Rome
   • Allies demanded citizenship; after fighting, Rome granted it to most free people there
10. 9.

    Which find would best settle whether Augustus's counts included women and children, Ren asks?

    • A new textbook that repeats the counts with a bar chart
    • A census instruction from the time saying who had to be counted
    • A copy of Caracalla's edict of 212 CE giving citizenship to free people
    • A tax list from the 300s CE that counts the empire's people
11. 10.

    Card A was written about a century after Pericles's law. How should a historian use it, Zee asks?

    • As worthless, since a book written a century later cannot describe the law
    • As a later report of the law, drawn from sources closer to 451 BCE
    • As proof of why Pericles made the law, since the book gives his reasons
    • As a record made in 451 BCE, so it needs no checking against other sources