Final answer:
The Roman land reform laws proposed by the Gracchi were meant to redistribute land to small farmers and ensure the military's manpower, in response to the large slave-run estates. These reforms were opposed by the senatorial order who feared losing their privileges. Slave labor augmented not because of the reforms, but as part of the broader socioeconomic issues the reforms sought to correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statements regarding Roman land reform laws need to be evaluated for their historical accuracy. If we look at the historical context of the period, we can see which of the statements are true.
- Roman land reforms such as those initiated by Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus in the 2nd century BCE, were indeed a response to the socioeconomic crises that arose from the displacement of small-scale farmers by large, slave-run estates that largely produced luxury goods like olive oil and wine.
- The Gracchi brothers proposed land reforms with the intent to redistribute land back to the small farmers, to safeguard the subsistence of the citizenry and the manpower of the Roman legions.
- Slave labor saw its increase not as a result of the reforms, but rather as part of the existing problem; the large estates were already using a vast number of slaves, which was part of what the land reforms sought to correct by re-establishing citizen agriculture.
- The senatorial class, or the senatorial order, largely opposed these reforms. The senators were members of a narrow social elite who feared losing both their economic advantages and their political power due to the redistribution of public lands to the smaller farmers.
In conclusion, while the proposed reforms by the Gracchi aimed at addressing the issue of land concentration and its effects on Roman citizens and the military, they faced significant opposition from the senatorial elite. They were not designed to increase slave labor, but the opposite - to ensure that Roman citizens could continue to farm and serve in the legions.