Chapter One What Should We Know About American Government?
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 1-2 Enduring Questions If citizens are fit to select political leaders, why may they be unfit to govern themselves without such leaders? What is the difference between authority and power? What is democracy, and why is democracy alone not sufficient to protect people?
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 1-3 The Meanings of Democracy Two “democratic” political system To prevent the majority from oppressing the minority in a democracy, human rights must be protected Liberal democracy Other important terms
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 1-4 Two Types of Representative Democracy Required conditions 1.The parliamentary system 2.The presidential system
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 1-5 What Should We Know About American Government? U.S. political system differs from British system U.S. versus European politics U.S. versus European policy Differences between U.S. and Europe primarily the result of two factors Constitutional system Values and opinions of population
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 1-6 Reconsidering the Enduring Questions If citizens are fit to select political leaders, why may they be unfit to govern themselves without such leaders? What is the difference between authority and power? What is democracy, and why is democracy alone not sufficient to protect people?