In our first class, Bella learned that this class will combine some of what she learned last year - mainly how the Framers of the U.S. government created our federal and local governments. We will look at the origins of U.S. govt., its functions and its contemporary function. There are many kinds of government. Some are defined by the amount of power that the leader has. A monarchy is ruled by a single leader, usually a king or emperor. A constitutional monarchy limits the power of the monarch with a constitution that protects rights of the people. A republic government is entirely composed of officials who are elected to represent the people. Governments can also be defined by the way that leaders develop power. An example would be the meritocracy, where government officials must be qualified above a certain level in order to hold offices. There are many forms of government, but all of them define the lives of the people they govern.