What is a republican
government?
Purpose of the Lesson
This lesson will help you understand why the
Founders (people who established government
in the US) thought a republican form of
government was best. You will also learn about
civic virtue and the common welfare.
You will need:
• A lined piece of paper (this will go after your
last notes on government in your social
studies section of your binder).
• Pencil
• Brain turned on
**You will be copying down the notes written in
red.
Review
• We discussed earlier that the Founders, when
trying to decide on how to run the new country,
looked at John Locke’s philosophy to consider
how government should be run.
• John Locke said that government should be
established to help protect the natural rights of
the people. He also said that kings should not
have absolute power and that there should be a
social contract that says the population is willing
to give up some freedoms in exchange for
security and protection.
Terms to Define along the way
Similar to our last set of notes, the first section
of your notes will be for vocabulary, and the
second section will be for content. Be sure to
leave enough space under each word for a
definition.
1. Roman Republic
5. civic virtue
2. aristocrats
6. dictator
3. republican government 7. separated powers
4. common welfare
8. balanced powers
THE FOUNDERS WERE INFLUENCED BY:
their study of history
• Over 2000 years before our nation began,
there existed in ancient Europe a government
which greatly influenced the ideas of the
Founders. This was the Roman Republic,
which lasted from 509 B.C. to 27 B.C. Its
capital was Rome, which was located in Italy.
Some of the ruins of the buildings of this
ancient government can still be seen in Rome
today.
Remains of Roman Forum
How were they influenced?
The Founders were influenced by what
historians had written about the people and the
government of the Roman Republic. They read
that during the Republic, the Roman people
governed themselves without a king. The
common people and the artistocrats (wealthy
upper class) shared the power to govern. The
people chose leaders to make and administer
the laws for their country.
Founders defined a republican
government as a government in
which…
• The power of government is held by the
people.
• The people give power to leaders they elect to
represent them and serve their interests.
• The representatives are responsible for helping
all the people in the country, not just a few
people. Common welfare (good of entire
community)
Advantages?
What are the advantages of republican government?
• The Founders thought a republican government was the best kind
of government they could choose for themselves. They believed
that the advantages of republican government were:
• Fairness. They believed that laws made by the representatives they
elected would be fair. If their representatives did not make fair laws,
they could elect others who would.
• Common welfare. The laws would help everyone instead of one
person or a few favored people.
• Freedom and prosperity. People would have greater freedom and
be able to live well.
Problem solving
Your interests and the common welfare
• How do you decide what the common
welfare is? When should you give up
your own interests to do something
that is good for everyone? Each person
has to answer this question for himself
or herself. The following exercise will
help you do this.
Directions:
• Work in groups of about three to five students. Each group should
discuss the following questions. Be prepared to explain your group's
answers to the class. You can write this on a scrap piece of paper
pulled from beside the genre report bin. Only one response from
each group needed.
• Describe a situation in which you think you should try to help
others instead of just doing what you want for yourself.
• Explain a situation in which you think you should do something for
yourself instead of trying to help others.
• Sometimes people disagree about what is the best thing for
everyone. Describe a situation where this might happen. How do
you think such disagreements should be settled?
• Describe some things your government does to help everyone in
the country. What other things could your government do? Why?
•
So what?
• The Founders thought that a republican
government was possible in Rome only
because of the civic virtue of the Roman
citizens.
What is civic virtue?
When you work to help others and promote the
common welfare, you are showing civic virtue. The
Founders thought civic virtue was important for a
republican government. People with civic virtue are
interested in having the government help all the
people.
The Founders thought it was necessary to teach
children the importance of helping others. Young
people learned about civic virtue in their homes,
schools, and churches. Adults also heard about civic
virtue from their religious and political leaders.
Cincinnatus: An example (and model)
of civic virtue
(No, you don’t have to write this down)
In the year 460 B.C., Rome was in great danger.
An army from the east was burning and
plundering the countryside. The defending
Roman army was surrounded on all sides by its
enemies.
Cincinnatus
• The leaders of the government decided to ask
Cincinnatus , a skilled military leader, to help
them during this crisis. Messengers were sent
asking him to serve as dictator (supreme ruler
with absolute power) for as long as the crisis
would last.
Cincinnatus
• Cincinnatus was a hard-working farmer with
only four acres of land. When the messengers
found him, he was quietly plowing the fields.
Because he loved his country, he left his plow
to go to Rome to lead the army.
Cincinnatus
• In a battle that lasted two days, his army
defeated the enemy and saved the country.
Cincinnatus
Cincinnatus was honored and praised by his
people. But when the battle was over, he did
not try to remain as a dictator of his country. He
did not want to continue fame. Instead, he
returned to his home and his life as a farmer and
a citizen.
Cincinnatus
By returning to his home, Cincinnatus showed
that he valued being a citizen of Rome more
than he valued fame and personal power. He
respected the government of Rome. He did not
want to use his popularity to take power away
from the representatives elected by the citizens.
This was an example of the civic virtue that the
Romans were known for during the period of
the Republic.
Did they think we had what it takes?
The Founders thought a republican government
would work in our country. They believed most
of the people had civic virtue. They thought the
people would select leaders who would work for
the common welfare.
How should a republican government
be organized?
• The Founders also learned about republican
government from Montesquieu (1689-1755).
This
goodlooking
fellow!
Who was Montesquieu?
He was a French writer the Founders admired
so much that they often called him “the
celebrated Montesquieu”. They thought that he
was an expert on what republican government
should look like.
What did Montesquieu believe?
Montesquieu believed that the best way to make sure a
government would serve the common welfare was to do the
following things:
1. Separate the powers of government among the different
branches, or parts, of the government so that no one
branch would have all the power. Each branch should
represent the interests of a different group of society.
2. Balance the powers among these branches so no one
branch would have so much power it could control the
others.
3. Give each branch ways to check the use of power by the
other branches.
Think about it.
The Founders believed the values of republican
government were that citizens and their leaders
should lead modest lives and work hard. They
thought that people should care about the
common welfare.
Write about it.
• Nowadays, do you think people still exhibit these traits
(hard work and modest living)? Do you think people
care about the common welfare?
• In a brief, well-developed paragraph (including a topic
sentence, three supporting ideas, three points of
elaboration for each supporting idea, and a concluding
sentence), explain your opinion on whether or not
Americans still exhibit these original values of a
republican government. Include specific examples
from real life. What you don’t finish now will be
homework this evening.