1. WHAT IS GOVERNMENT? People are social, and they need to live with other people in groups or communities. Communities make rules to settle disagreements among members and to protect the community from those who violate the rules. The organization set up for these purposes is called a government.

2. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT? Simply, a government guides the members of a community in their dealings with each other and outsiders.

3. POWERS OF GOVERNMENT All governments are given powers to carry out their authority over the members of society.

4. POWERS OF GOVERNMENT a legislative power to make the laws an executive power to carry out the laws a judicial power to interpret the laws

5. WHO IS IN CHARGE? One person? (An autocratic government is an example.) A select few? (An oligarchic government is an example.) All citizens? (A democratic government is an example.)

6. THINK ABOUT IT! Read this quote:... Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government. I truly believe that if the central government took over all the powers of the state governments, eliminating the need for states, the central government would be the most corrupt government on earth...

7. THINK ABOUT IT! Recall what you know about different forms of government. Which type of government would the author of the quote favor most? a.communismc. monarchy b.federalismd. dictatorship

8. NOW YOU KNOW! Even if you don’t know what federalism is, chances are that you know that communism, monarchy, and dictatorship all require a single, central government. Only federalism involves sharing power.

9. WHO SAID IT? Read the quote again:... Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government. I truly believe that if the central government took over all the powers of the state governments, eliminating the need for states, the central government would be the most corrupt government on earth...

10. WHO SAID IT? Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson favored federalism. Writers of the U.S. Constitution created a system where power was shared between the national government and the state governments. This division of power is called federalism.

11. WHAT IS GOVERNMENT? Government means different things to different people. Government is involved in everything that you do. Government is necessary.

12. GOVERNMENT All governments are NOT like the United States’ government. You probably know that.