The United States has a very specific way of running the government, but it has been submitted to changes throughout the years. For example, when the southern states of the U.S. succeeded from the northern states after the election of President Lincoln, they were a confederacy. Now there are many different ways people can classify our form of government, such as a federal republic, a meritocracy, or even, simply, a republic.

            In the 19th century, when 7 Southern states succeeded from the U.S., they were considered a confederacy. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a confederacy is “a situation in which states of people join together for a particular purpose, usually related to politics or trade, or a group formed like this” ("Confederacy"). In the case with the U.S., the states joining together were the 7 southern states and they were uniting against the northern states. The same dictionary defines the Confederacy of the United States as “the union of southern American states that fought against the northern states in the American Civil War and were defeated in 1865” ("Confederacy").

            As years passed, the United States came back together again and the government went through a change. Our government today is officially classified as a Republic (Misachi). A republic is described as being a form of government where the power lies within the people to pick and vote for people who will represent them ("Republic"). A Republic was first established back in 509 B.C.E. by the Romans. This occurred when they overthrew their conquerors and came up with a process of electing officials to rule on the behalf of their people. ("The Roman Republic") Republics can be headed by anyone who is elected by the people and acts upon the citizen’s wishes, however, most are run by a President, like the U.S. Our government can be broken down into three separate branches: the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary. Each of these branches have different functions and they all balance each other out through a system called checks and balances. For example, the executive branch is the President and he/she is in charge of approving laws and making federal decisions. However, the other branches have the right to approve the law after the President has vetoed it, if everyone agrees. This is an example of checks and balances.  Almost every member of each branch is voted for by the people of the country, which is why we are considered a republic. (Misachi)

            Some many also consider the United States to be a federal republic. This differs slightly from a republic in that some power lies with the states, which we do have here. For example, in some states it is legal to have possession of marijuana and in other states, it is against the law. Live Science defines a federal republic as “a state in which the powers of the central government are restricted and in which the component parts (states, colonies, or provinces) retain a degree of self-government; ultimate sovereign power rests with the voters who chose their governmental representatives” (Melina). Basically, the people still have the power to vote for elected officials whom they think will represent them in an appropriate manner, yet some power still lies directly with the individual states.

            The last example may be a stretch, but I believe that the government of the U.S. can also be defined as a meritocracy. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a meritocracy is a form of government where leadership is “selected on the basis of intellectual criteria” ("Meritocracy"). A meritocracy is basically a type of government where only the most talented are chosen to run for office. Which makes sense, why would we want someone who isn’t capable to handle the pressure and tasks of presidency running our country? The only legal requirements to run for President are that they must be a “natural born citizen” of the U.S., have lived here for at least 14 years, and must be at least 35 years of age ("Elections... the American Way"). However, if we look back, almost all Presidents have been white males that are quite wealthy, with the exception of a few. Why is this the case? I believe that it’s because the final two people who run against each other both had enough money to campaign strong enough that everyone in the United States knew who they were. Let’s also be honest, someone who dropped out of high school and didn’t receive any form of education, won’t be capable of becoming President, let alone will they even get to the campaigning portion. Americans want the most intelligent and logical person as the head of the country, which is why we can fall under the category of being a meritocracy. This doesn’t only go for the role of the president; when people elect mayors, judges, and other positions, they want them to be well-educated and capable of doing their job to represent the people.

            In conclusion, the United States has many different sides to its government and can be classified as different types, depending on how it’s viewed. The U.S. government has been changing ever since it was first established, but has had the same basis ever since the Constitution of the United States was written. This government can be defined as a republic, a federal republic, or even a meritocracy. Officially, it is defined as a Republic because the people of this country have the right to vote for who they want to represent them. However, other forms of government come into play when we consider the type of people that are elected for office and the power that the individual states have control over. The United States is ever-changing and has many aspects of many different forms of government.

 

 

 

                                                                                   Works Cited

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“Confederacy.” Cambridge Dictionary, N.d., https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/confederacy, Accessed 14 April 2018.

 

“Elections… the American Way.” Library of Congress,                                                                                   N.d. https://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/elections/requirements-for-president.html,                         Accessed 14 April 2018.

 

Melina, Remy. “What Are the Different Types of Governments?” Live Science, 14 Feb. 2011,

            https://www.livescience.com/33027-what-are-the-different-types-of-governments.html,

            Accessed 31 March 2018.

 

 “Meritocracy.” Merriam Webster Dictionary, N.d.,

             https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meritocracy, Accessed 14 April 2018. 

 

Misachi, John. “What Type of Government Does The United States Have?” World Atlas, 20 Feb.

              2018, https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-type-of-government-does-the-united-states-have.html, Accessed 14 April 2018.

 

“Republic” RationalWiki, 27 Dec. 2016, https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Republic,

            Accessed 31 March 2018.

 

“The Roman Republic.” UShistory.org, N.d. http://www.ushistory.org/civ/6a.asp,

            Accessed 14 April 2018.