"FREEDONIA"- Forming a Government, Research and Presentation Project
Freedonia

INTRODUCTION: Students will be using their (currently limited due to the fact that this is only the second week or school...) knowledge of governmental and economic systems to plan the future of a fictitious country named Freedonia. This is a RESEARCH PROJECT, designed to make students familiar with the specific functions of government and how those functions are managed by different forms of government and different economic systems. Students will be expected to supplement their current knowledge with additional RESEARCH into solutions to the problems of Freedonia.

BACKGROUND: Freedonia is an imaginary colony of Imperia. For the past ten years, there has been a widespread guerrilla war along the western frontier. The object of this war is to achieve independence, which is now scheduled for January 1st. For the last six months, black leaders have been gradually taking over most of the country's administration. This has been followed by a flight of skilled whites.

The Imperians have controlled Freedonia since the 1500's. Many of the white families have lived in Freedonia for more than 100 years. Most of the people speak Imperianese. Five different tribes are represented in the country. These tribes generally speak their own language and practice different religions. About 25 percent of the people are Christian. Thirty-one percent are Muslim, and the others practice native religions. During recent years, relations among tribes have been strained because one tribe, the Ino, controls most of the important administrative positions even though they make up only 21 percent of the population.

Most Freedonians are very poor. The per capita income is only $900. The primary industry is agriculture. The major exports are cotton, coffee, cloves, and cashew nuts. Many of the large plantations are foreign-owned, and there is substantial foreign investment in other industries as well. Little heavy industry has been developed, although the Imperians have built two large automobile assembly plants during the past five years.

Freedonia has an area of 52,000 square miles (136,500 square kilometers). It has a population of 8,300,000 and has a high birth rate. About 85 percent of the people live along coastal lowlands and in the Naja River basin. The capital, Freedonia City, has doubled its population in the last five years.

Freedonia shares borders with four other countries. One was formerly an Imperian colony and is ruled by a member of the Ino tribe. The other two are less friendly. One has received military and economic aid from the Soviet Union, which now has a large naval base there. The other is a country with which Freedonia has a longstanding boundary dispute.

INSTRUCTIONS:

PART ONE, Planning and Write-up: As a small group, you will be planning and designing a government for Freedonia. You will be assigned one of the seven following forms of government:

  • GREEN DAY ASSIGNMENTS: 
  • Representative Democracy:  Misty, Devon, Jeremy
  • Monarchy: Ashley, Charles, Adam
  • Constitutional Monarchy:  Marc, Sulem, Mykalah
  • Dictatorship:  Tyler, Brianna, Kaylyn
  • Totalitarian (Non-dictator):  Ciara, Nancy, Kendra
  • Fascist Regime:  Michaella, Shayla
  • Confederated Government:  Garrett, Chance, Brittni
  • WHITE DAY ASSIGNMENTS: 
  • Representative Democracy:  Sabrina, Morgan B.
  • Monarchy: Jessiah, Kyle, Walter
  • Constitutional Monarchy:  Tyler, Mikayla, Morgan T.
  • Dictatorship:  Hali, Carlos
  • Totalitarian (Non-dictator)
  • Fascist Regime:  Destini, Eddie
  • Confederated Government:  Luke, Dalton

You will also be recommending an economic system that you feel would benefit your Freedonia. You will have to select from the following Market Systems (but remember, some economic systems are almost incompatible with some government systems!):

  • Communism (Command Economy)
  • Socialism (Planned Economy)
  • Capitalism (Market Economy)

Your plan should answer the following questions. Be sure to state the reasons you decided on a particular answer to these questions. This should be in a written, paragraph format. There should be well-thought out paragraphs for each question.

1. You have been assigned a form of government. Explain how you feel YOUR government form will be beneficial to Freedonia. Give your Government form a Name. (ex.: "The People's Republic of Freedonia")

2. Decide how leaders will get their power. Who, if any, will vote? How many political parties will there be? Provide details for ONE of the political parties. Give it a name. Outline the platform (beliefs) of the party.

3. Your group will get to select the economic system that you feel will be most beneficial to Freedonia. Explain your economic system and why you have selected it. Will the government help the people and how will the government HELP the people? Explain what you feel would be the best economic areas to focus on as Freedonia develops. (Raw materials?  Agriculture?   Industry and Manufacturing?  Service? Small business?) Why will that be best for the country?

4. Decide how law and order will be maintained. Who/what body will make the laws? What are some of the basic laws? What if people break these laws? How will you address violence with different races/religions?

5. How will the government deal with the other countries? In other words, what foreign policy should the government pursue? How will you deal with each of the neighboring countries? Trade relationships, economic embargoes (like with Cuba), threats with nuclear weapons build ups, diplomacy, etc.

6. To what domestic policies should the government give first priority? (population growth, poverty, religious freedom, etc?) HOW should the government address those problems? What kind of policies should it put in place? Why should the government give it first priority?

7. Is there a Bill of Rights for your country? If so, what would it look like?

PART ONE GRADING: Part I (Project Write-up) is worth 100 points, as follows:

  • Did you address all SEVEN questions AND the problems of Freedonia? Answers must be explained thoroughly. (70 pts)
  • Did you approach the project in a professional manner and use all resources to address the problems of Freedonia? Your final plan should have a neat and professional appearance, complete with full sentences and paragraphs, proper grammar, and correct spelling, at least THREE TYPED PAGES in length. (30 pts)

PART TWO: Presentation

Each group will create a short (5-7 minute) visual presentation of YOUR Freedonia. You may choose to create a PowerPoint presentation or a Poster on butcher paper. If you have had me for Technology or Graphic Design Class, I EXPECT to see the use of Fireworks and/or Photoshop in the creation of visuals for your presentation, alternately.

Your presentation will include the following:

  1. BRIEF BUT THOROUGH OUTLINES of your group's answers to all 7 questions. DO NOT simply write your essay on a posterboard, or copy and paste information into a PowerPoint. Make it user friendly with bulleted points or graphic organizers that are easy to read and understand.
  2. Please design a flag for your country. Think about symbols that may be important to your country and include them.
  3. In your piece about the political party, please design a logo/symbol for your political party. Your logo should include an appropriate symbol for that party. (ex: Democrats= elephant)

PART TWO GRADING: (Project Presentation) is worth 100 points, as follows:

  • Did you clearly review all SEVEN questions AND the problems of Freedonia? (35 pts)
  • Presentation is USER FRIENDLY, graphics and information clearly and logically laid out. Students do not merely read from their slides. (35 pts)
  • Presentation includes graphics for Freedonia Flag and political party symbols (I will have higher expectations for former Tech/Graphic students in their graphic work!). (15 pts)
  • All group members participate in the presentation, and exhibit an understanding about the content they are presenting. (15 pts)

PART THREE, Individual Essay: Each student will write a short essay, at LEAST ONE PAGE TYPED, 2-3 paragraphs minimum, that answers the following questions:

  • What is the purpose and function of government?
  • Did your government fulfill the purpose and function of government? How/not?
  • What were the strong points and weak points of the governmental and economic systems that your group planned.
  • After your presentation and the feedback from the class, what things would you CHANGE about your Freedonia Governmental System?

PART THREE GRADING: Your essay will be in complete sentences with proper grammar and clearly address the questions above, demonstrating knowledge of the terms being used, as well as the Governmental plan as developed by the group. (50 pts)

A NOTE REGARDING PROJECT PARTICIPATION: TOTAL PROJECT IS WORTH 250 points, which is HUGE for this class! Most of the grading will be regarding YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE SYSTEMS IN QUESTION AND HOW THEY OPERATE WITHIN YOUR PLAN.