Principles of Government

Unit 1 Vocabulary Government Public policy Democracy State Sovereignty (sovereign) U.S. Constitution Precedent Writ of Habeas Corpus Social Contract Theory Representative democracy Direct democracy Republic Limited government

What is government? “the institution through which a society makes and enforces public policies”

What is public policy? Polices, or actions that the government chooses to do. Examples: taxation, education, health care, national defense, civil rights.

What is a state? “a body of people, living in a defined territory, organized politically, and has the power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority.” Think of this as a “political state”

Characteristics of a state: what must a state have to function? Population Territory Sovereignty Government

Characteristics of The State Population A state must have people Smallest state San Marino 27,000 Territory Must have recognized boundaries Largest Russia 6.6 Million Square Miles Smallest San Marino 24 Square Miles United States is about half the size of Russia

Characteristics of The State 3. Sovereignty The state has supreme in absolute POWER within its own territory The state can decide its own foreign and domestic policies Who holds the power? A person or the people? 4. Government – Every state is politically organized Government consist of the machinery and personnel by which the state is ruled Government takes many forms Sovereignty is the one characteristic that distinguishes the state from all lesser political units. Consequently the Virgin islands in Guam are not sovereign but are territorial possessions in the United States. Government is the Institution through which society makes and enforces its public policies. It is the agency through which the state inserts it’s well it works to accomplish its goals United States has 300 million people and 38,000,000 mi.² Are individual states with the United States sovereign?

But first…… What is a theory?

Theory: A proposed explanation or hypothesis designed to account for any phenomenon. Something that has not been proven.

Theories on How Government Developed: The Force Theory Government developed b/c someone forced others to obey their rules Evolutionary Theory Government developed out of the family structure Divine Right Theory Government leaders get their power from a higher being Social Contract Theory…

The Social Contract Theory State developed voluntarily. People created government therefore government serves the people. People can change the government. Hobbes, Locke, and Montesquieu Popular sovereignty Limited government Individual rights Branches of government

So…what does this have to do with OUR government? Does anyone want to guess which of the theories defines the United States government? Social Contract Theory

Representative Democracy Democracy= government that is run by the people A representative democracy is one where public policies are made by officials who are selected by the voters and held accountable in periodic elections. The United States has a representative democracy

Direct Democracy A government in which the sovereignty is given to ALL people that choose to participate in the government It is difficult to find a government with a direct democracy today; the best example of a direct democracy were the colonial governments in New England (during America’s colonial period) Why can’t the United States have a direct democracy today?

Republic a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them. From www.dictionary.com A republic is almost synonymous with representative democracy

What is the Purpose of our Government? A solid answer is found in the preamble of our constitution…… To Form a More Perfect Union To Establish Justice To Insure Domestic Tranquility To Provide For a Common Defense To Promote the General Welfare To Secure the Blessings of Liberty

To Form a More Perfect Union

To Establish Justice

To Ensure Domestic Tranquility

To provide for the Common Defense

To Promote the General Welfare

To Secure the Blessings of Liberty

Forms of Government 2 major indicators that describe the form of government in a state Participation Distribution of power

Participation To know what form of government a state has, ask yourself: who can participate? Democracy Political authority rests with the people Who has sovereignty? Direct and Indirect democracy Is a representative democracy direct or indirect?

Participation To know what form of government a state has, ask yourself: who can participate? Dictatorship- absolute power Autocracy: a single person has unlimited power Oligarchy: power is held by a small group of people

Distribution of Power Question asked: where is the power to govern located? Unitary government: power belongs mainly in the central government (rather than local government agencies) Local governments only have powers that are given to them by the central government- main purpose is to relieve the central government of all of its responsibilities There is a DIFFERENCE between a unitary government and a dictatorship. In a unitary government, the government’s power can still be limited (meaning there are certain things that the government cannot do). A government can be unitary AND democratic

Distribution of Power Question asked: where is the power to govern located? Federal Government- powers of government are divided between a central government and local governments Responsibilities are sometimes shared, but they are also divided between different LEVELS of government Example: The United States No Child Left Behind: National government legislation It is the state’s responsibility to create and control their state’s education system. The Law, NCLB, gave guidelines to the states (a national government power), but the responsibility ultimately lies with the states. You take Georgia state tests, not national tests

Distribution of Power Question asked: where is the power to govern located? Confederation- government power resides with local government agencies (like states in the United States) The central government ONLY has the power to do what the states assign it to do I.e. defense (military) The national government is NOT strong, and the governing authority that has the most control is the state government States are loosely bound together by the central authority Example: European Union- The EU has some authority over its states (European countries). For example, it created a currency that is shared amongst all of the European countries, the Euro

Characteristics of Democracy

Characteristics of Democracy There are four main principles that describe a democracy… If a government meets these requirements, then it is a democracy Individual Liberty Majority Rule with Minority Right Free Elections Competing Political Parties

Individual Liberty People are FREE People have rights Equal Opportunity

Majority Rule with Minority Rights Decisions based on the will of the majority Consideration of the minority groups

Free Elections People elect representatives- giving them their consent to govern over them There is a choice One person, one vote Candidates express their views freely Citizens can take part in campaigns

Competing Political Parties Political party: group of individuals with broad common interests who organize and support candidates for office; develop specific ideologies that tie them together Rival parties make elections meaningful