This is a strange story from the late 1800’s. A philanthropist wanted kids to be in charge and they actually formed governments.

“The brainchild of philanthropist William R. George, the George Junior Republic (est. 1895) was hardly alone. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a motley crew of reformers helped scores of American youth to construct thousands of cities, states, and nations around the country “on a similar plan” as later editions of Baedeker’s explained.”

“In these child societies, boys and girls of all races and ethnicities and from across the economic spectrum were the officials and citizens. They made laws, sat for civil service exams, and paid taxes. They constructed buildings and swimming pools, ran hotels and restaurants, and printed newspapers and currency. They opened juvenile libraries and museums, tended vegetable gardens and zoos, organized cooperative stores and charities, staffed banks and post offices, performed in theaters and on radio broadcasts, and administered hospitals and schools of law.”

This is an interesting article, something you are not likely to have encountered before.

We have something similar today, except that our President only has the mind of a child.

When Kids Ran the World: A Forgotten History of the Junior Republic Movement