The story of Governmentville.

Be prepared to write notes and pay attention.

Believe it or not, the story has a point!

The characters for the story include--

Farmer Bill

Milkshake

And some pigs

Let’s begin the story.

Imagine a farm in a far away country…

We’ll call that country Governmentville.

On that farm lived a farmer.We’ll call him Bill.Hi Bill.

Hi 6th grader

s!

Now the country of Governmentville had gone through many changes. Right, Bill?Right!

When the country first

started we were under the control of a dictator. It

was awful.

Why’s that Bill?

Well, for one, the dictator ruled as

an absolute power.

What’s that mean?

That means that he

claims his power was

given to him by god.

Did he also run an unlimited government?

Yes, he did. An unlimited

government is where all power belongs to the

ruler but the ruler doesn’t have to follow the laws.

How so?

Well, for example, a few

years ago I used to have

this cow.

I called her Milkshake

because she liked to dance.

Anyway, the ruler of our

country made a law that said no one could drink

milk on Wednesday’s

But every Wednesday he

would come and drink a glass of milk in front of

us farmers.

So that is what I mean by unlimited

government. The rules didn’t

apply to the ruler.

Now usually an unlimited

government does much

worse then just drinking milk.

Like what?

Well they may raise taxes, take

land or create other unfair

laws that they don’t have to

follow.Oh.

This type of government is also

known as a totalitarian

government.

I see.

Students I suggest you write down a brief summary of what an unlimited

government, totalitarian, and dictatorship is on your note sheet.

OK times up let’s continue.

Well, we decided to

overthrow the ruler and gain our freedom.

So what did you do?

Not exactly.

Did it work?Why not?

Well after we over-threw the ruler a small group of the

richest farmers took power.

They did?

Yep. We didn’t think anything of it. They said that they knew how to run the country fairly.

They did at first but then the

whole unlimited government

problem arose.

Did they?How?

Well you see I also raise pigs on my farm.

So?

Well, this group of rich people didn’t like pigs and made laws against owning

them.

It gets worse. They then found

out that pigs were worth more

money then cows.

That doesn’t sound fair!

Well I’ll tell you.

What happened then?

They made laws against us

owning pigs, but they had pigs.

That government doesn’t sound much better then a dictatorship. What was it called?

It was known as

an oligarchy.

That’s where a few rich powerful people

make all the

decisions.

An oligarchy, I’ll have to remember that one.

You do that.

And I suggest y’all take some time to write

down a brief idea of what an

oligarchy is on your note sheet.

What happened to the oligarchy?

Let me tell you. Do you have a

minute?Sure.

What happened was one of

the farmers

got greedy and

wanted more and

more power.

He imprisoned all the other

powerful farmers and

declared himself king

of Government

villeSo what did he do?

I know what you’re

thinking.

And you guys let him?

That we must be a couple

of fools if we let another person gain control like

that.

What’s that?

Well for your information we didn’t let that happen.

You said it, not me.

Yep. He became king

of Government

ville.

That’s good.

You’re interrupting.

So you did let it happen?

Sorry.

A government where one person is in

charge is known as a monarchy.

But was it still an unlimited government?

I’m getting to that.

Oh, sorry.

That’s O.K.

Yes and no.

So Governmentville has a monarchy?

Well we had a monarchy

for a few years.

What?

But the king died and his

son took control.

But?

Yes, but his son was

really dumb and wanted to make all

types of rules.

That’s what usually happens in a monarchy.

Yep and we realized that

being an unlimited

government wasn’t good.

Uh oh…

We all got together and sat the king down and made him

sign a charter.

So what did you do?

It said that any laws that the

king made would have to be followed by

everyone—including the king himself.What did the

charter say?

It also said that all the farmers would have a

say on decisions being

made.

So we went from an

unlimited government to

a limited government.

You’re interrupting

again.

So you have a monarchy with a limited government?Sorry.

Sort of. We called it a

constitutional monarchy.

And that means?

It means the king has to

follow the rules that the

farmers agree upon.

Did it work?

Soon after the king signed the

charter, he tried to break

it.

Uh oh!

Well, we knew better and we

overthrew him.

So who gained control?

We all did for awhile.

What?

Since we couldn’t

decide who should be in charge we

decided that everyone

should vote on any

decisions that were

made.

But before I go into that let’s have our friends

write a brief definition of a monarchy

and a limited

government down.

Where was I? Oh yeah, I was talking

about voting on every

issue that was going to take place.

Interrupting!

Yeah that sure did seem like a lot of work!Sorry!

It was. We were

constantly going to

meetings and voting on

issues: many I didn’t care

about but some I did.

It was known as a direct

democracy. That’s where all citizens

vote on every issue.

What type of government was that?

Usually a democracy is

where the people have a

say in what decisions are

made.

But the time involved is large.

Yes! Over time our farms

began to be neglected

because of all the voting.

That’s not good!

Nope. We decided to switch to

another form of government

that we had heard about in

the United States.What was

that?

It is known as a representative democracy or republic, for

short.

How does it work?

We elect people to vote

for us.

Forever?

No, only for a few years. That

way if they break their

promise we can elect someone

new.Sounds good!

It’s worked so far.

What about a leader?

We elect him as well. Our

current leader is named Chad

Hanging.

I heard about that election.

Yeah. We had some problems

counting the votes from the

southern part of Governmentville but eventually

we sorted it out.

Now he is the president of

Governmentville.

How has he done?

Just fine. At times he has had

to raise taxes, but our elected officials kept us informed to why and how much.

Sounds like it’s working.

For now. The important thing is

that everyone votes. In some

countries everyone can vote, but they

don’t take advantage of it.You’re

kidding!

No, I’m not. Take the United States,

for example.

What about them?

In the last election many people didn’t

vote.

So?

Well, then when they are unhappy with something

that happens they complain but do nothing about it.

Oh, I see.

O.K. But what do you say we let the

students do it?

Let’s recap the types of government…

O.K.

First question. Who can tell me the difference

between a limited and an unlimited

government?

Next question. What is something a dictator may do

in an unlimited government?

What can the citizens of a

country do if their leader is ruling

unfairly?

What type of government is it

where a small group of people have the power?

What problems can arise in an

oligarchy?

How can an unlimited

government become a

limited government?

Looks like Milkshake has

some questions.

Yes, I do.

What type of government

allows everyone to vote on every

issue?

What type of problems are

there with this type of

government?

Does the United States have a

limited or unlimited

government?

How can a country react to a leader that is

unfair in a republic?

O.K.! Enough

questions!

Yes, but can I tell a joke

before I get moooving

along?

O.K., but if it’s as bad as that last one I’m having hamburgers for

dinner!

Why didn’t the chicken cross the

road?

Why?

Because he lived under a dictator!

Get it? Dictator? Not being able to

do anything?

Ha! Ha! Ha! Just call me David Hefferman!

I’m out of here!

Me, too. Need to go heat up the

grill.

This presentation is in the memory of

Milkshake.Boy, she tasted good.