1. Magruder’s American Government
C H A P T E R 1 Principles of Government
© 2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.

2. C H A P T E R 1 Principles of Government
SECTION 1 Government and the State
SECTION 2 Forms of Government
SECTION 3 Basic Concepts of Democracy 1 2 3
Chapter 1

3. S E C T I O N 1 Government and the State
How is government defined?
What are the basic powers that every government holds?
What are the four defining characteristics of the state?
How have we attempted to explain the origin of the state?
What is the purpose of government in the United States and other countries? 2 3
Chapter 1, Section 1

4. What is the Purpose of Government ?
Is Government Necessary?
What is the Purpose of Government ?

5. What Is Government?
Government is the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies. 2 3
Chapter 1 Section 1

6. Government responsibility
1- Provide Order
2- Provide Protection

7. There are 3 basic powers of Government
Legislative Power- the power to make laws and to frame public policies.
Executive Power- the power to execute, enforce, and administer laws.
Judicial Power- the power to interpret laws, to determine their meaning, and to settle disputes that arise within society.

8. Earliest known evidence of government date from ancient Egypt and the sixth century b.c.
“man is by nature a political animal”
Said by Aristotle more than 2,300 years ago.
What did Aristotle mean by political?
Are politics and government the same?
NO!!!
Politics is a process, while government is an institution.

9. Politics
The process by which a society decides how power and resources will be distributed within that society
Enables a society to decide who will reap the benefits.
Allows a society to decide who will pay the costs.
Is the means by which government is conducted.
Is neither “good” nor “bad”, but is necessary.

10. The state can be defined as having these four characteristics:2 3
Chapter 1, Section 1

11. Does a church qualify as a state? Why or why not?
No, church does not hold supreme power within a territory.
Does the largest State in the U.S. qualify as a sovereign state? Does the smallest State?
No, does not possess sovereignty, that power is reserved to the United States Government.

12. Origins of the State 2 3 The Force Theory
The force theory states that one person or a small group took control of an area and forced all within it to submit to that person’s or group’s rule.
The Evolutionary Theory
The evolutionary theory argues that the state evolved naturally out of the early family.
The Divine Right Theory
The theory of divine right holds that God created the state and that God gives those of royal birth a “divine right” to rule.
The Social Contract Theory
The social contract theory argues that the state arose out of a voluntary act of free people. 2 3
Chapter 1, Section 1

13. The Purpose of Government
The main purposes of government are described in the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States:
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” 2 3
Chapter 1, Section 1

14. Section 1 Review 2 3 1. A government is
(a) the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies.
(b) a collection of people.
(c) always democratic.
(d) the organization representing farms and industries.
2. A state has the following four characteristics:
(a) population, territory, sovereignty, and government.
(b) sovereignty, a perfect union, welfare, and territory.
(c) people, places, force, and divine right.
(d) justice, defense, liberty, and domestic tranquility.
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Chapter 1, Section 1

15. S E C T I O N 2 Forms of Government
How can we classify governments?
How are systems of government defined in terms of who can participate?
How is power distributed within a state?
How are governments defined by the relationship between the legislative and executive branches? 1 3
Chapter 1, Section 2

16. Classifying Governments
Governments can be classified by three different standards:
(1) Who can participate in the governing process.
(2) The geographic distribution of the governmental power within the state.
(3) The relationship between the legislative (lawmaking) and the executive (law-executing) branches of the government. 1 3
Chapter 1, Section 2

17. Classification by Who Can Participate
Democracy
In a democracy, supreme political authority rests with the people. A direct democracy exists where the will of the people is translated into law directly by the people themselves.
Republic
In an indirect democracy, a small group of persons, chosen by the people to act as their representatives, expresses the popular will.
Dictatorship
A dictatorship exists where those who rule cannot be held responsible to the will of the people. Authoritarian.An autocracy is a government in which a single person holds unlimited political power.An oligarchy is a government in which the power to rule is held by a small, usually self- appointed elite. Totalitarian
Monarchy 1 3
Chapter 1, Section 2

18. Classification by Geographic Distribution of Power
Unitary Government
A unitary government has all powers held by a single, central agency.
Confederate Government
A confederation is an alliance of independent states.
Federal Government
A federal government is one in which the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments.
An authority superior to both the central and local governments makes this division of power on a geographic basis. 1 3
Chapter 1, Section 2

19. Classification by the Relationship Between Legislative and Executive Branches1 3
Chapter 1, Section 2

20. Forms of Government 1 3
Chapter 1, Section 2

21. Section 2 Review 1 3 1. In a democracy,
(a) independent states form an alliance.
(b) supreme political authority rests with the people.
(c) those who rule cannot be held responsible to the will of the people.
(d) the rule by a few, select individuals regulates the will of the people.
2. The United States government has the following characteristics:
(a) confederate, parliamentary, and dictatorship.
(b) unitary, presidential, and democracy.
(c) federal, presidential, and democracy.
(d) unitary, parliamentary, and dictatorship.
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Chapter 1, Section 2

22. S E C T I O N 3 Basic Concepts of Democracy
What are the foundations of democracy?
What are the connections between democracy and the free enterprise system?
How has the Internet affected democracy? 1 2
Chapter 1, Section 3

23. The American concept of democracy rests on these basic notions:
Foundations
The American concept of democracy rests on these basic notions:
(1) A recognition of the fundamental worth and dignity of every person;
(2) A respect for the equality of all persons;
(3) A faith in majority rule and an insistence upon minority rights;
(4) An acceptance of the necessity of compromise; and
(5) An insistence upon the widest possible degree of individual freedom. 1 2
Chapter 1, Section 3

24. “ The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” John F. Kennedy
“Must a government, of necessity, be too strong for the liberties of its own people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?” Abraham Lincoln
Human beings desire both liberty and authority.

25. “ The first requisite of a good citizen in our republic is that he should be able and willing to pull his weight.”
Theodore Roosevelt, 1902

26. Duties and Responsibilities of Citizenship
Serving on a jury
Serving as a witness
Attending school
Paying taxes
Registering for the draft (men only)
Obeying local, state, and national laws
Respecting the rights of others
Voting
Volunteering
Participating in civic life
Understanding the workings of our government

27. Democracy and the Free Enterprise System
The free enterprise system is an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods; investments that are determined by private decision rather than by state control; and determined in a free market.
Decisions in a free enterprise system are determined by the law of supply and demand.
An economy in which private enterprise exists in combination with a considerable amount of government regulation and promotion is called a mixed economy. 1 2
Chapter 1, Section 3

28. Democracy and the Internet
Democracy demands that the people be widely informed about their government.
Theoretically, the Internet makes knowledgeable participation in democratic process easier than ever before.
However, all data on the World Wide Web is not necessarily true, and the long-term effects of the Internet on democracy has yet to be determined. 1 2
Chapter 1, Section 3

29. “ The legitimate object of government, is to do for the community of people, whatever they need to have done, but cannot do, at all, or cannot, so well do for themselves-in their separate, and individual capacities.”
Abraham Lincoln

30. Section 3 Review
1. All of the following are basic notions found in the American concept of democracy EXCEPT
(a) a recognition of of the fundamental worth and dignity of every person.
(b) a respect for the equality of all persons.
(c) the rule of government by a single individual.
(d) an acceptance of the necessity of compromise.
2. In a free enterprise system, the means of capital are owned
(a) by private and corporate entities.
(b) by government agencies.
(c) by only the agricultural sector.
(d) equally by the collective citizenry.
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Chapter 1, Section 3