1. What is government? What do you expect from your Government?
Chapter 1
What is government?
What do you expect from your Government?

2. Every Government has 3 basic types of power:
A. legislative-the power to make laws
B. executive-the power to execute, enforce and administer laws
C. judicial-the power to interpret law

3. The particulars of these powers are usually detailed in a country's constitution. A constitution is the body of fundamental law.

4. The 4 Characteristics of the state are: population-a state must have people, the size of the population is not important territory-land with recognized boundaries sovereignty-it must have supreme authority over their own territory government-every state must have political organization

5. 4 theories have emerged regarding the origin of the state:
Origins of the State
4 theories have emerged regarding the origin of the state:
1. Force Theory-Many historians support the force theory; that one person or group claimed control over an area and forced all within it to submit to that person or group's rule. When that rule was established, the 4 characteristics
of a state( population, territory, government and sovereignty) were put into place.

6. 2. Evolutionary Theory-theory that the state developed naturally or evolved out of the family unit. Families, clans tribes. When clans ceased their nomadic ways- with the development of agriculture, governments began.

7. 3. Divine Right Theory-was widely accepted throughout much of Europe from 15th-18th centuries.
It held that the state was created by God, and God gave those of royal birth a "divine right" to rule. Citizens were to obey the rulers as they obeyed God.
Those who opposed were not only guilty of treason, they were guilty of mortal sin as well. Examples: ancient Egyptians, Mayans, Aztecs

8. 4. Social Contract Theory-Argues that the state arose out of a voluntary act of free people. The state exists only to serve the will of the people, and that the people are the sole source of political power...the people are free to give or withhold power as they choose. The social contract theory is the most significant theory on the origin of the state.
Government is among the oldest of all human inventions. Historians date its beginnings back to the 6th century B.C .

9. The purpose of Government: "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."

10. To Form a More Perfect Union- the United States had just won independence from Great Britain, and faced an uncertain future. In 1781, the Articles of Confederation created a "league of friendship" among the 13 states. This league of friendship would prove incapable of solving the problems between the states, as jealousies and rivalries developed.

11. To Establish Justice- The term JUSTICE is difficult to define, because it is a concept. Just like freedom, liberty and good are all concepts. Justice has the meaning that people assign to it. In the US, we have defined it as: that law in content and administration should be reasonable, fair, and impartial. This country has not always met this standard of justice. Martin Luther King said, "Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere."

12. To Insure Domestic Tranquility- Order is essential in any society, but one need not look far to see countries where order is not established. i.e. Lebanon, Beirut, Afghanistan, Darfur

13. To Provide for the Common Defense The framers of the Constitution mention the term Defense more often than any other function of the government they created. Defending the country has always been one of the government’s major responsibilities.

14. To Promote the General Welfare- The services the government provides for its people are numerous. The US government provides services that benefit all or most Americans.

15. To Secure the Blessings of Liberty-freedom for the individual cannot be absolute. No person can be free to do whatever they want to do, because that would infringe on the freedoms of others.

16. Section 2-Forms of Government: 3 Ways of Classifying Governments: 1
Section 2-Forms of Government: 3 Ways of Classifying Governments: 1. Geographic distribution of power-in every government, the power to govern is located in a specific area. 3 Basic forms of government exist, based on this principle:

17. A. Unitary-often described as a centralized government, in which all powers of the government belong to a single central agency. They may have local governments, but they are created for the convenience of the central agency. Most governments in the world today are unitary. Great Britain is

18. an example, the British Parliament, the central agency, has all the power of the British government. B. Federal-the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments.

19. Examples: the United States, Germany(16 states), Canada
Examples: the United States, Germany(16 states), Canada. In the United States, the national government is over the state governments, and the Constitution is over both.

20. C. Confederate-an alliance of independent states-a confederate government possesses little authority to act on its own. Examples: the United States ( during the Articles of Confederation and )

21. 2. Relationship between Legislative and Executive Branches- A
2. Relationship between Legislative and Executive Branches- A. Presidential Government-features a separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of the government. The 2 branches are independent and coequal. Usually, a written constitution provides for the separation of powers between the branches of government.

22. B. Parliamentary Government-the executive branch is made up of the prime minister or premier and that official's cabinet. They are members of the legislative branch. The prime minister can be removed by a vote of "no confidence."

23. 3. The number who can participate- Who and how many can participate in the governing process? A. Dictatorship-A dictatorship exists where those who rule cannot be held responsible to the will of the people.

24. Dictatorships are authoritarian-they are systems in which those in power hold absolute and unchallengeable authority over the people. Autocracy-a single person holds unlimited political power. Oligarchy-power to rule is held by a small, usually self -appointed group.

25. Leading examples- Hitler- Nazi Germany, Mussolini-Fascist Italy, Stalin-United Soviet Socialist Republic One person dictatorships do still exists today, but they are rare. Cuba- Raul Castro-brother of Fidel Castro. Dictatorships usually gain power through the use of force.

26. B. Democracy-in a democracy, the supreme political power rests with the people. The government operates with consent and approval of the governed. A democracy can either be direct or indirect.

27. A direct democracy, also known as a pure democracy exists where the will of the people is transformed into public policy (law) directly by the people themselves. In the United States, we have an indirect democracy, known as a representative democracy.

28. In a representative democracy, a small group of persons chosen by the people conduct the day to day business of government on behalf of the people they represent. Representative government is government by popular consent.

29. Section 3- Basic Concepts of Democracy 5 Basic Concepts of democracy: 1. Fundamental worth of the individual-democracy insists that each person's worth and dignity must be recognized and respected by all other individuals, and by society at all times. At times the welfare of a few may have to be sacrificed for the welfare of the masses.

30. 2. Equality of all persons-Democracy does NOT insist on equality of condition for all persons. The democratic concept of equality insists that all are entitled to: (1) equality of opportunity (2) equality before the law

31. 3. Majority Rule and Minority Rights-democracy argues that the majority will be right more often than they will be wrong. Democracy insists upon majority rule restrained by minority rights: The majority must always respect the right of the minority.

32. 4. Necessity of Compromise-public decision makers must be willing to compromise, in order to find the position most acceptable by the largest number.

33. 5. Individual Freedom-democracy insist that each individual must be as free to do as he or she pleases as far as the freedom of all will allow. John F. Kennedy said, "The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.