For an elite Roman man, the cursus honorum was extremely competitive, as it incentivized him to succeed as well as he could as soon as possible, not only to be at the height of his "oversight" ancestors, but to enhance their achievements and therefore honor his family. A magistrate, regardless of rank, had only one year to make a name for himself, because "...each age group, equal in years and theoretically equal in prestige, advanced together through a series of elections during which they competed for public favor. and political power” (Beard and Crawford, p. 53). From this competitiveness and the result of a growing empire, which those in power struggled to control, came men who exposed and exploited the flaws in the constitution. The support of the people, including the poor, has always been important, because they are the ones who will vote for you; However, this new politician saw flaws as a means to personal power, which increasingly needed the support of the poor. The tribune Tiberius Gracchus has been credited by scholars as being one of the first politicians to use the poor to achieve success. It is unclear whether Tiberius deliberately chose a populist cause to champion, but his land law of 133 BCE, under the guise of increasing the number of small farmers in Italy, to make them eligible for conscription into the army, maybe that was it. Plutarch attributes to Tiberius the following saying: the poor: “…fight and die to protect the wealth and luxury of others…but they do not possess a single clod of earth that is truly their own. » (Plutarch). Appian confirms Tiberius' views at this time, describing a speech in which he sympathized with the poor, saying that they were increasingly destitute and, therefore, in demographic decline...... middle of paper. .....ure personal power in the 70s and 60s BCE. Gaius Julius Caesar used the same methods to rise to power in the 60s BCE. In 60 BCE, Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus formed an alliance (a "triumvirate") to rule Rome informally. Technically the Senate still had power, but they used the military to crush it with an unspoken threat of violence. Caesar ruled alone, the Senate declared him "dictator for life" and launched a vast program of populist reforms. He enacted debt reform, launched a massive public construction program, and extended citizenship to residents of northern Italy. He exercised his personal power and not that of the republic. Rome became its res publica. The guardians of the republic were armed and feared that Caesar would establish himself as king. Consequently, Senate Republicans, led by Brutus, assassinated Caesar in 44 BCE..