Alexandra Lentini

                                                                              Pd.3 Date: 9/25/05

                                                                              Ms. G  Civics Essay

          Civivcs. The study of our Government. In our government, I mean, the U.S government. Democracy is the government we currently choose. Monarchy is also another option, as Saudi Arabia and Great Britain have used/are currently using. Yet another form would be something most U.S. citizens have heard of. Dictatorship. One of the most famous dictators being one Adolf Hitler.

          Dictatorship is the form of government that we currently use in the U.S. Democracy is a form of government in which policy is decided by the preference of the majority in a decision-making process, usually elections or referendum, open to all or most citizens. How about we go back to July 1776. The month in which the Declaration of Independence was created. The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in the history of the United States. It signifies the colonies’ break from England and the rule of George III. The Second Continental Congress formed a committee to write the Declaration, but the Committee thought it would be better for only one man to write the document. It took Thomas Jefferson seventeen days to write the Declaration of Independence. On July 2, 1776 the Congress voted to declare independence from England. After two days of debate and some changes to the document, on July 4th, the Congress voted to accept the Declaration of Independence. This is why we celebrate July 4th as Independence Day. The Federal Convention convened in the State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation. Because the delegations from only two states were at first present, the members adjourned from day to day until a quorum of seven states was obtained on May 25. Through discussion and debate it became clear by mid-June that, rather than amend the existing Articles, the Convention would draft an entirely new frame of government. All through the summer, in closed sessions, the delegates debated, and redrafted the articles of the new Constitution. Among the chief points at issue were how much power to allow the central government, how many representatives in Congress to allow each state, and how these representatives should be elected--directly by the people or by the state legislators. The work of many minds, the Constitution stands as a model of cooperative statesmanship and the art of compromise.

            A monarchy, (which derives from the Greek word monos, "one," and archein, "to rule") is a form of government that has a monarch a Head of State. The distinguishing characteristic of monarchies is that the Head of State holds their office for life, unlike in a republic, where a president is normally elected for a certain amount of time. The term monarchy is also used to refer to the people and institutions that make up the royal establishment, or to the realm in which the monarchy functions. Elected Monarchy’s, distinguished by the monarchs being appointed for life, have in most cases been succeeded by hereditary monarchies. In the hereditary system, the position of monarch involves inheritance according to an order of succession, usually within one royal family tracing its origin back to a historical dynasty or bloodline. In some cases the royal family may claim to hold authority by virtue of God's choosing, or other religious-based authority.

          Dictatorship, in contemporary usage, refers to absolute rule by a leadership (usually a single dictator) unrestricted by law, constitutions, or other social and political factors within the state. In Classical usage, dictatorship referred to magistrates in ancient Rome that were allocated absolute power during times of emergency. Their power was neither arbitrary nor unaccountable, however, being subject to law and requiring retrospective justification.