What was republican government

For sample lessons from the latest edition, please click here. This lesson will help you understand why the Founders thought a republican form of government was best. You will also learn about civic virtue and the common welfare. The Founders studied the history of governments.

They were very interested in what they read about the government of the Roman Republic. It was located in what is now the country of Italy. The Roman Republic existed more than 2, years before our nation began. The Founders liked what they read about the Roman Republic. They learned some important ideas from their study of the government of ancient Rome. They used some of these ideas when they created our government. The government of Rome was called a republican government.

The Founders read that republican government was one in which:. 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:.

When a government tries to help everyone in a country, we say it is serving the common welfare. The common welfare is what is good for everyone in the country, not just a few people. 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. 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. 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. For example, the ancient Republic of Venice was ruled by an aristocratic elite. In the U. Revolution and Constitution. Before the revolution, leaders developed many political theories to justify independence from Great Britain.

Paine rejected the legitimacy of the monarchy to have a part in government. The title page of Common Sense by Thomas Paine. In the book, published in , Paine called for the creation of a republic in the form of a representative government with a written constitution. Framers of the U. Montesquieu, for example, argued:. James Madison would turn the small-territory republicanism of the Enlightenment on its head in Federalist No. He argued that in any free society people would naturally come together in groups to pursue common interests.

Madison theorized that in a small republic the number of interests would be few and, therefore, both the influence of each and the threat each posed, would be greater.

In an extensive republic, however, there would be a large variety of diverse and distinct groups animated by different beliefs and desires. These many groups, spread out over a large territory, would be less likely to develop into harmful factions, and less able to combine to oppress minorities. According to Madison:. Successful coalition building demands moderation rather than political extremism. Today we might well echo Franklin—we have a republic, if we can keep it.

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Unit: The Purpose of Government Arrow icon. Lesson: Republican Government. In fact, many of the Founders, such as James Madison, were suspicious of what modern Americans seemingly embrace: Democracy is self-government through popular sovereignty, based on the principle of majority rule.