Could Rome have risen to power without slavery?

Slavery has shown up all over the world in every nations past and most of the time it has been due to the race of the slaves that are doing the labor. Slavery in Ancient Rome was a major part to their success and how they became one of the world's greatest empires in their time. The Romans whipped, beat, and put their slaves through so much pain and labor that it was if they were dogs.  "Yesterday I gave each of you his special job, but you're so worthless, neglectful, stubborn, that I must remind you with a good basting." (Plautus, Pseudolus, Act. I, Sc. 2./http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/slavery-romrep1.html) Rome could have risen to power if they didn't have slaves but they would of had to work to be able to become the civilization that they once were. 

The race of the slaves was normally what had gotten them into slavery in the first place. The Americans enslaved Africans and the Egyptians enslaved Jews all because of their religion and the color of their skin. The Romans however treated slaves as a social class and they were owned be free men that sold and traded them to those who could afford them. After a slave was freed, most went on to become Gladiators. "One Slave/Gladiator named Spartacus led an entire army of slaves against the Roman senatorial in the Third Servile War." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_slavery#Slavery_in_Rome) The Romans needed slaves to do manual labor but they didn't need them to fight in their massive armies, which at the time were the greatest armies in the world. Slavery was a huge part in the Roman life but it was not a part of how the Romans lived their lives. "Well; be it so! And so are you blunted with stripes, but is that any reason why you shouldn't work for me"? (Plautus, Pseudolus, Act. I, Sc. 2./http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/slavery-romrep1.html) In this line from the play, the slave owner is telling the slave that even if the blade o the ax is dull, that is no reason why you can't work for me. Slavery in Rome was bad but it was not the worst.

The Romans treated their slaves with the same respect that hey would give to a dog or another animal. If the owner did not get what they wanted, they would have that slave killed off and they would buy another. "You say, Rufus, that your rabbit has not been cooked well,/and you call for a whip/ you prefer to cut up your cook,/ rather than your rabbit. (Book III, No. 94)" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_slavery#Slavery_in_Rome) The Romans were brutal and were extremely harsh to the slaves that the owned and sold. The slaves could rarely get want they wanted and could rarely ever be freed by their master unless they were abandoned. There have been many cases of slave revolts that take place. "When Sicily, after the Carthaginian collapse, had enjoyed sixty years of good fortune in all respects, the Servile War broke out for the following reason. The Sicilians, having shot up in prosperity and acquired great wealth, began to purchase a vast number of slaves, to whose bodies, as they were brought in droves from the slave markets, they at once applied marks and brands." (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/3slaverevolttexts.htm) The war broke out and Sicily suffered a huge drop in their economy while funding the army an the weaponry needed for the army. In all, Slaves were mistreated and they needed to speak up and revolt. That is exactly what they did.

To recap and all of this, The slaves were beaten, Mistreated, owned ad traded like farm animals, and they had no use other than labor to the Roman Republic. The Romans could have developed their army, their empire, and their power without the slave labor. It just would have taken a longer period of time and they would have had to do the labor on their own. This makes the Romans just look extremely lazy to be honest. The Romans had a vast empire and plenty of wealth to fund more jobs for physical labor than paying the laves little money and beating them to death. The Romans we cruel, smart, and rich. They could have thought of something instead of slavery. Instead they led themselves into wars and their own fall.

MLA Citations:

• Plautus, Pseudolus, Act. I, Sc. 2- "Ancient History Sourcebook: Slavery in the Roman Republic." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. .
• Wikipedia.org (Book III, No. 94)- "Slavery in Antiquity -." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. .
• Slave Revolts- FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. .