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Our National, State
and Local Governments
T
here aremanykinds of government in
our country and state. In our nation,
government provides us with sets of
written laws or rules. These laws help to
protect us and keep our way of life orderly.
This chapter is written to help you learn
about the different kinds of government.
Learning about government helps to
make you a better citizen. Our kinds of
government are based upon the idea that
people can help to run the government.
This is known as a republic. A republic is
where citizens have the right to vote for
people, called candidates, who they think
can do the best job in the position. This
means that peopleareelected intooffice. In
turn, they can select people to run the
different kinds of groups needed to run the
government smoothly.
When you “pledge allegiance to the
flag…and to the republic,” you are saying
you believe in this kind of government.
Living in a republic also means that each
citizen has certain rights or freedoms. It
means thatwe are equal. It alsomeans that
we respect the rights of others in our
country. This way of running the
government is known as a democracy.
In 1681, William Penn was the first one
to try this type of government. Instead of a
kingor queen ruling, he allowed thepeople
to decide how to rule. Today, we have the
same kindof government at different levels
— national (our country), state, county,
and local levels.
Chapter 10
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Our national and state flags are symbols of democracy.
