DRAFT YOUR OWN
Constitution
Your micronation’s constitution is a plan for how your
SUPPLIES
government will work. It should include a preamble to
.. writing tools
explain what your country is about and directions for setting
everything up. You can also decide whether or not to include
.. paper
a written bill of rights to protect your people’s rights. Look up
the constitutions of the United States and other real countries
or micronations to get an idea of what you might want to include.
1 Write a short preamble that
FASCINATING FACT
describes your country’s theme, goals,
and values. If your constitution will
have a bill of rights that spells out what
freedoms your country’s citizens enjoy,
write that up as a list or in paragraphs.
The original hand-written Constitution
of the United States is only four pages
long. They used very small writing.
2 In the next part, describe your system of government. You can make an
organizational chart to help plan how it will work. On a piece of paper, make
three columns: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.
3 At the top of each column, draw a box tall enough for three or four lines of
BUILD IT YOURSELF
writing. Inside, write the title of the person or persons in charge of that branch.
The same person can be in charge of two or three. If there are advisors who
help the top person, write the title of the advisor under the person in charge
and draw a line connecting them.
Legislative
Executive
Senate & House
President
Make laws
Represent the citizens
in the government
Decide how money
will be spent
Vice
President
Cabinet
Represent your country to
the world and make treaties
with other countries
Command the military
or protect the country
with other methods
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Judicial
Supreme Court
Federal Courts
Hold trials to decide if
laws have been broken
Preamble From the Northern
Forest Archipelago Constitution
The Constitution of the Northern Forest Archipelago micronation
reflects the importance of nature to its ruler, King James III.
We, the creatures and plants and rocks and rivers of the
wilderness, in order to pursue the goals spelled out in this
constitution; do establish the Northern Forest Archipelago on
this, the twenty-first day of September, in the year 1998. Let it
be known both far and near that the Northern Forest
Archipelago, an independent and sovereign state, will
be a state guided by respect for all.
4 In each column of your chart, under the boxes stating who is in charge,
list the things you want that branch of your government to do. These are
duties and responsibilities. They can include: represent your country to
the world and make treaties with other countries, represent the citizens in
the government, command the military or protect the country with other
methods, make laws, hold trials to decide if laws have been broken, and
decide how money will be spent.
5 When your chart is done, write up your plan for government in your
constitution in paragraph form. You can follow the U.S. Constitution and
break them down into articles and sections or make up your own system.
6 The rest of your constitution can include information on other things
your country needs.
»» Leadership: Who can be leader in your country?
»» V
oting: Are there elections in your country? When are they held and
who gets to vote in them?
»» S
ystems: Does the government provide education, transportation, or
health care to citizens in your country? (See Chapter 5 for more ideas.)
»» A
mendments: What is the process for changing and updating the
constitution?
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BUILD IT YOURSELF
»» Citizenship: How do people become citizens?