We the People workbook Lesson 3 What is a republican government?
Slide 2 Purpose of the lesson In this lesson, you will learn what
the Founders thought about government. Slide 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 Republic so they used some of the Romans ideas. Slide 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. Slide 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. Slide 6 A town meeting is a form of direct
democracy. Direct democracy means that the people themselves decide
what laws they need. Slide 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. Slide 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. Slide 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. Slide 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. Slide 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. Slide 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. Slide 13 We the People workbook Lesson 4 What
is a constitutional government? Slide 14 Purpose of the lesson In
this lesson, you will learn the difference between a constitution
and a constitutional government. Slide 15 Complete Activity on page
30 in We the People workbook. Slide 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. Slide 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? Slide 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? Slide 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. Slide 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. Slide 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.
