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What did the Founders learn about government from the Romans?. Civics 2018-19. Republican Government.
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What did the Founders learn about government from the Romans? Civics 2018-19
Republican Government • Two thousand years before our own nation began, there was a republic that greatly influenced the ideas of the Founders. A republic is a country that has a government in which power is held by the people who elect representatives. • The Roman Republican Government lasted for over 500 Years. • The Founders learned that during the Republic, the Roman people governed themselves without a King. In the Roman Republic, both the common people and the aristocrats, or wealthy upperclass, shared the power to govern.
Republican Government Slide 2 • Republican Government is a type of government in which the - Citizens have the power to govern - Citizens delegate or entrust their power to leaders they elect to serve their interests. - citizens and their representatives work cooperatively to promote the common good rather than their own interests. • Common Good – means that which is good for the community as a whole.
Advantages in a Republican Government • A representative is a person elected to act and speak for others. The main purpose is to serve the common good. Laws are made for that common good and not to help the interests of one person or group. • Having representatives make the laws is more efficient. In order to make good and fair laws it is important to understand the problem very well. Every individual does not have time to learn about everything where it is the representatives job. • The people have say in their government. The people still have to decide who will represent them. The people have to communicate their ideas and actions they want taken to their representatives. • Representatives are responsible to the people. If the representatives do not make good and fair laws the people can vote them out of office.
Disadvantages to a Republican Government • Republican governments work better in small communities. In these smaller communities people know and care about each other and work for the common good. The US is much larger than Rome. • Republican government works best when people are very much alike. Much more difficult when there are big differences in wealth, religion and moral beliefs. • Easy in a large diverse group to naturally divide into factions. A faction or interest group might work towards things that benefit them more than another group.
Making it fit for the U.S. • James Madison is considered “the Father of our Constitution” He adapted many of the ideas to fit our country. • Madison believed that America should have a republican government. Laws would be made by representatives elected by the people. Representatives would be elected by a large number of people not by a select few. • This would be more like a democracy because government would get its right to govern by its people as a whole. This is where republican democracy comes from. • A republican democracy the people choose leaders to make and administer laws for their country. • Madison also believed there would be ways to prevent any one person or faction from abusing power.
Cincinnatus • Read the story and answer the questions.
Civic Virtue • Founders hoped that people would practice civic virtue meaning that both citizens and their leaders were willing to set aside their private interests and personal concerns for the common good. • Madison also accepted Locke’s view of human nature. He believed that people are prompted to act by their self interest. Madison thought even with this if you were acting in your self interest you could still further other peoples interests as well. • Madison knew that civic virtue alone could not be relied upon. Government would have to be created to fit human nature as it is not the way we wish it to be.
Why would this last longer than the Roman Republic? • American colonies taught the ideals of common good and civic virtue at home, in schools, and in church. • They believed that the Roman Republic had failed in the end because of the loss of civic virtue. They had promoted their own interests at the expense of the common good. • The Colonies began their own government after the revolution based on the ideas talked about in this PowerPoint.
