Question

Which power did farmers, merchants, and artisans eventually gain in the Roman republic

Answer 1

In the Roman Empire, farmers, merchants, artisans, and the rest of Rome’s working class, who were supposed to work hard to support their families and paying taxes, were considered as opposed to the privileged class or “plebians”. These members if roman citizenry were excluded not only from the Senate but also from all public offices except military, therefore, they had little influence.  

This situation changed when in 287 B.C. they conducted a campaign to have such civil disabilities abolished, organizing themselves into a separate corporation and withdrawing from the Roman state.  Eventually, this working class gained the right to elect their own officials, held its own assemblies, called concilia plebis, and kept its own records.