The story of Governmentville. Be prepared to write notes and pay attention. Believe it or not, the...
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Transcript of The story of Governmentville. Be prepared to write notes and pay attention. Believe it or not, the...
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.