Question

What financial problem contributed to the end of the Roman Republic?

Enslaved laborers wanted to be paid, and landowners did not agree to this.
Small farms failed due to bad harvests, which caused workers to lose their jobs.
The military created too much debt and forced spending cuts in other areas.
Unemployment grew as landowners replaced paid workers with enslaved laborers.

Answer 1

Unemployment grew as landowners replaced paid workers with enslaved laborers.

Large landowners (latifundia) used slave labor captured in Rome’s wars, undercutting small free farmers who lost their land or jobs. The resulting unemployment and social inequality helped fuel unrest and the collapse of the Republic.