[2] Gaius was the younger son of Attius Clausus, a wealthy Sabine merchant who emigrated to Rome with a large following in 504 BC, and was admitted to the patriciate under the name of Appius Claudius Sabinus.
The following year the law was tabled again following strange omens[iii] and a deadlock over a levy of troops by the consuls, followed by the excitement of the trial of Caeso Quinctius Cincinnatus.
[9][10] Rumours of all kinds flew, none more serious than that Caeso Quinctius, who had fled into exile the previous year, had returned to the city at the head of a conspiracy of young noblemen, intent on the murder of the tribunes of the people, and any others who had opposed the aristocratic party.
But Claudius gave a speech opposing any such investigation, asserting not only that the rumours were false, but that the tribunes themselves were responsible for them, as an excuse to banish other young aristocrats in the same manner that they had Quinctius.
The consul Valerius delivered a sharp rebuke to both sides for failing to treat the situation with the gravity it deserved, and reminding the tribunes of his father's role in establishing the Republic and protecting the rights of the people, he defied them to oppose him.
While Claudius maintained a watch from the city walls for the approach of further enemies, Valerius and the Tusculans attacked and defeated the occupying army, although both the consul and Herdonius were slain in the fighting.
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, whose son Verginius had forced into exile, nonetheless spoke in support of the proposal, reasoning that a greater number of tribunes would be less likely to agree on a course of action, and thus less troublesome than before.
Although Appius had affected a mild and agreeable demeanor, and won the trust of the plebeians, his colleagues suspected that he might wish to remain in power, and accordingly, they appointed him to name the new college, and resigned their office to set an example.
[22][23] Instead of resigning, Appius appointed himself decemvir for 450, and surrounded himself with like-minded men and those whom he could easily dominate, deliberately excluding other prominent Roman statesmen, such as Cincinnatus, his brother, Titus Quinctius Capitolinus, or Gaius Claudius.
The second college of decemvirs quickly earned a reputation for high-handedness and a Claudian disdain for the common people, publishing two more tables of law containing harsh restrictions on the plebeians.
Gaius Claudius urged the Senate not to take action against the decemvirs, but he also warned his nephew to act in the best interest of his country, and not to abuse the power he held at the cost of the people's liberty.
[24][25] Gaius' advice to his nephew was ignored, and seeing that any further actions on his part would be futile, he withdrew from Rome, taking up residence at Regillum, his family's ancestral home.
[26] When the new consuls, Lucius Valerius Potitus and Marcus Horatius Barbatus, applied to the Senate for a triumph after delivering the city from its enemies, Gaius adamantly opposed their request.
[v] The consulship was finally opened to the plebeians by the lex Licinia Sextia in 367 BC, after the tribunes of the plebs had prevented the election of any magistrates for nine consecutive years.