In the past, different civilizations were ruled by different forms of government. The US Democratic Republic, the Roman Republic, and the Athenian Democracy have similar and different functions in how they run their government. In the Democratic Republic of the United States, it has all three branches of government which are the legislative, executive and judicial branches. Their legislative branch has a 100-member Senate and they are popularly elected to six-year terms. The Senate makes laws and advises the president on foreign policy. The executive power has a president elected by the people for four years. The president is the chief executive of the government and the commander in chief of the army. The Supreme Court has nine justices appointed for life by the president. They are the highest court, hearing civil and criminal appeal cases. A citizen is anyone born in the United States, as well as those who go through a congressionally established naturalization process. Citizens have the right to a timely and fair trial by jury, to vote in elections for public officials, to apply for federal employment requiring U.S. citizenship, and the right to run for elected office. Furthermore, they have the freedom to express themselves, the freedom to worship as they wish, and the freedom to pursue "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Any citizen who is at least 18 years old and who has not been convicted of a crime can vote. A common citizen can vote to choose representatives to lead the government. The U.S. Constitution is the fundamental law of the United States. The laws of the Constitution spoke of the freedom to pursue "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", that all men are equal, and the laws against...... middle of paper ......y, and the Roman Republic has the same three branches of government. All three governments have an executive branch that makes and enforces laws for the people, they have a purpose for the popular vote, and they have people who can vote. While this may be true, the three governments have different quality rules for anyone to be a citizen. Characteristics that come from the United States government are using the three branches of government, having a commander in chief, a Senate, using written documents on how a government would work, allowing people to vote for their leaders, and have the executive branch power to enforce laws. In short, the US Democratic Republic, the Roman Republic, and the Athenian Democracy have similar and different functions in how they run their government. The US government uses characteristics of these other cultures.