1. What is a Republican Government?

2. Back to the Romans...
A republic is a country that has a government in which power is held by the people who elect representatives.
Those representatives manage the government for the people, for the sake of the common good.

3. Back to the Romans...
The government that fascinated the Founding Fathers was the Roman Republic.
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 wealthy people shared the power to govern.

4. Back to the Romans...
The Founders called the government of Rome a republican government.
Republican Government:
Citizens have the power to govern
citizens delegate or entrust powers to leaders
citizens and their representatives work cooperatively to promote the common good rather than their own interest.

5. What are the Advantages of a Republic?
Representatives are elected to serve the common good
Having representatives make the laws is more efficient.
The people have a say in their government.
The representatives are responsible to the people.

6. Representatives are elected
A representative is a person elected to act and speak for others.
The main purpose of the republican government is to serve the common good
Representatives make laws that serve the entire community.

7. Efficient
Representatives can make laws faster and better because it becomes their responsibility to do so.

8. People have a say
By delegating their power to the representatives, the people do not give up their voice in government.
The people still have to decide who will represent them.
The people have to communicate their ideas and the actions they want taken.

9. Representatives are Responsible
People hold their representatives responsible for making good and fair laws.
If the representatives do not make good laws, the people can vote them out of office and select new leaders.

10. Disadvantages of Republic
The Founders worried about whether a republican government would work in the colonies.

11. Disadvantage 1 Republican government works best in small communities.
In small communities, the people know and care for each other and the common good.
The colonies, on the other hand, occupied a large territory.

12. Disadvantage 2
The people in a republic have to be very much alike. There cannot be a high degree of diversity. The people cannot be very different in their wealth, moral beliefs, or ways of life.
In the colonies,however, the people had many different religious beliefs and ways of life.

13. Disadvantage 3
People in a large and diverse republic would naturally divide into factions, or interest groups.
Such interest groups might work against other groups or the people as a whole, rather than work for the common good.