Chapter 1 Foundations of Government

Section 1 The Purposes of

Government

Government

Most Governments consist of 3 main components: People- Elected officials, public servants, Powers- Governments authority and ability to get

things done Policies- Any decision made by government in pursuit

of a particular goal

State

What is a State? “Country and “State” basically have the same

meaning Today a State identifies a political community that

occupies a definite territory and has organized government with the power to make and enforce laws without the approval of a higher authority.

Nation is a sizable group of people who are united by common bonds of race, language, custom, tradition, and sometimes religion.

Essential Features of a State

Population- A state must have people but the size of the state does not determine whether or not it is a state.

Territory- A state has established boundaries Sovereignty- The state has supreme and absolute authority

within it’s borders. The individual states of the USA do not have this so they are not considered states by international law.

Government- Every state is politically organized and has government in order to issue and enforce laws.

Origin of the State

Evolution Theory – The state evolved from the family

Origin of the State

Force Theory- When everybody in an area was forced to come under the rule of 1 group or people

Divine Right Theory- God or God’s have chosen someone to rule

Natural Law and Natural Rights- An alternate theory of rules rests on the idea of natural law, a system of rules derived from the natural world. It binds citizens and rulers alike.

Social Contract Theory- There is no government by nature and people must surrender authority to a state.

Purpose of Government

Providing National Security- The Govt. is supposed to protect the people vs. attack

Maintain Social Order – People need Govt. to do this because people will not be in order by nature according to Thomas Hobbes

Resolve Conflict- When issues come up no matter what they might be how a government handles these issues defines how they operate as a state.

Provide Public Services- Govt. should provide services to make community life possible and promote general welfare

Social Contract Theory

Thomas Hobbes created the Social Contract by stating that life was nasty and people were by nature not civilized and that they must surrender to a central government

John Locke took this a step further by adding that people were due the right to life, liberty, and property. He also claimed that when Government failed to provide these rights the people had a right to break their contract with the Government

America was founded on the principles of John Locke

Jean-Jacques Rousseau He felt humans were fine and happy until the formation of societies and government corrupted man-kind. He claimed the only way for people to regain their freedom was by establishing a government based on both social contract and general will of the people

Section 2 Forms of Government

Classic Forms of Governments

All governments are classified under 3 major groups 1. Autocracy – rule by 1 person 2. Oligarchy- rule by a few persons 3. Democracy- rule by many persons

Autocracy

Autocracy Dictatorship- (Military is most common) Monarchy- Great Britain Royal

Absolute Monarchs- King or Queen have complete power Constitutional Monarchs- The monarchs share power

with elected legislative officials Totalitarian Dictatorship- 1 leader

example Nazi Germany (Adolf Hitler) Italy under Mussolini Cuba under Castro Soviet Union under Stalin

Oligarchy

Oligarchy is a form of dictatorship where a small group holds power

Can be based off of Religion, Military or political beliefs

Communism is an OligarchyChina is a Communist OligarchyAncient Greece and Sparta are other

examples

Democracy

Any system of Government that is ruled by the people for the people

United States is an example of a DemocracyDirect Democracy- the people govern

themselves by voting on issues individually as citizens

(found in small towns) (Ancient Athens was a Direct Democracy)

Democracy

Indirect Democracy- A Republic is a form of Indirect Democracy that places decision making 1 step away from the people

A republic is an Indirect Democracy and the United States is considered a Republic because the elect representatives to decide for the people

Republic = Representative Democracy

Government Systems

Unitary System- Gives all key powers to the national or central government.

Federal System- Government divides the powers of Government between the national government and state or provincial governments

Government Systems

Confederal System- Independent states join forces by forming a central government called a confederation

The United States was a Confederal system when it was under the Articles of Confederation

Presidential and Parliamentary Systems

Presidential Systems- A system where the people elect a President for a limited term to be head of state (United States)

A key part of this system is that the Presidents powers are balanced out by a legislature also elected by the people

Parliamentary Systems- The executive and legislative branches are combined (Great Britain)

The most common form of democracyThe Prime Minister is selected by parliament not

elected by the people

Section 3

Democracy in the United States

Ideals of American Democracy

The core values of American Government are as follows Liberty Equality Self Government

These values originally only stood for a select group of people today they have evolved to stand for all people

Ideals of American Democracy

Liberty was the key principal as it allowed people to act and think as they chose as long as these choices don’t do any harm to another person

Liberty stands for freedom from government control

Sometimes Government intervention is necessary to protect liberty of the people

Ideals of American Democracy

Equality is put in to insure that people all possess a fundamental, moral worth that requires fair treatment under the law

Despotism is a form of democracy where people give to much control to the government in order to gain equality

Ideals of American Democracy

Self Government is the fact that ordinary people could aspire to rule themselves or be equal politically

This is the main principal that set the American Revolution in motion as the people were tired of being ruled by a King or Queen

Principals of American Democracy

In order to achieve Democracy each of the following principals must be met: 1. Worth of the individual- The belief that if left on their

on people would always seek to better themselves 2. Rule of Law- This holds rulers and people accountable

to the law 3. Majority rule, Minority rights- This allows the

majority to make the decisions but at the same time protects the rights of the minority

4. Compromise- People must be willing to come off some of their beliefs in order to share the beliefs of others

5. Citizen Participations- This will not work if citizens are not educated and participate in decisions of the government

Free Enterprise

Free Enterprise is the most important principal in American Government.

This principal allows people and businesses to make their own decisions and have an opportunity to better themselves