What is a republican government?

1. What is a republican government? “We the People” workbook Lesson 3

2. Purpose of the lesson In this lesson, you will learn what the Founders thought about government.

3. Where did the Founders get their ideas about government? The Founders studied the history of government. They knew how people in the ancient world governed themselves. The Founders liked what they read about the Roman Republicso they used some of the Romans ideas.

4. The Roman Republic existed more than 2,000 years ago. Rome was the capital of the republic. Today Rome is the capital of Italy. A king did not rule the Roman Republic. The citizens of Rome ruled themselves.

5. How can the people rule themselves? In many of the American colonies, people lived in small towns. If there was a problem in the community, the leaders called a town meeting. During the town meeting they talked about the problem and decided what was best for their town.

6. A town meeting is a form of direct democracy. Direct democracy means that the people themselves decide what laws they need.

7. Sometimes the people choose representatives to make the decisions for them. This is what the people in the Roman Republic did. The government of Rome was called a republican government.

8. The Founders read that republican government was one in which • The people hold the power. • The people give power to leaders they elect to represent them. • The representatives are responsible for helping all the people in the country, not just a few.

9. Why did the Founders like the idea of a republican government? • Representatives are selected to serve the common good. They do not help just one person, such as a king. They do not favor one group, such as the rich or the poor. • Having representatives make the laws is more efficient. In a direct democracy, everyone helps make the laws. Making laws takes time. The people have to study every problem to make good and fair laws. People do not have time. Representatives can make laws faster and better because it is their job.

10. Why did the Founders like the idea of a republican government? • The people have a say in their government. The people do not give up their voice in government. They decide who will represent them. • The representatives have to listen to the people. The people expect their representatives to make good and fair laws. If the representatives do not make good and fair laws, the people can vote them out of office.

11. What is the common good? The main purpose of republican government is to promote the common good. The common good means what is best for the community as a whole.

12. What kind of citizens make a republican government work well? When you work to help others and promote the common good, you are showing civic virtue. The Founders thought that people must have civic virtue for a republican government to work.

13. What is a constitutional government? “We the People” workbook Lesson 4

14. Purpose of the lesson In this lesson, you will learn the difference between a constitution and a constitutional government.

15. Complete Activity on page 30 in “We the People” workbook.

16. What is a constitution? A constitution is a set of rules and laws that explain how a government is organized and how it should be run.

17. Questions about the government Studying the constitution of a government will help you answer certain questions about that government and its citizens. Here are some questions a constitution usually answers. • What are the purposes of the government? • How is the government organized? What parts does it have? What does each part do? • How is the government supposed to carry out its business? How are rules made? • How are people chosen to serve in the government?

18. Questions about citizens • Who is a citizen? • Are citizens supposed to have control over their government? If so, how do they control it? • What rights and responsibilities, if any, are citizens supposed to have?

19. What is a constitutional government? Just because a nation has a constitution does not mean it has a constitutional government. A constitutional government means that there are limits on the powers of government. *Read section “What is a constitutional government?” on pg. 32.

20. What is a dictatorial government? A dictatorial government means that there are not limits on the power of the people who run the government. They can do whatever they want to do.

21. Can you have a constitution and still have a dictatorial government? The answer is yes. A constitution might give a person unlimited power. The constitution might limit power but not have ways to enforce those limits. There might be ways to enforce the limits, but no one actually does.