Chapter 1 People and Government Principles of Government

Chapter 1 -People and Government Principles of Government

The State • Aristotle-Greek scholar in ancient (you guessed it) Greece-one of 1 st students of government • He studied polis (ancient Greek city-state) • State identifies political community that occupies definite territory with organized government-has power to make & enforce laws

Section 1 continued • US is one of 200 states in world today • Nation-any sizable group of people who are united by common bonds of race, language, custom, tradition, & sometimes religion • Nation-state-country in which territory of a place and the state coincide

Characteristics of State • Population • Territory • Sovereignty-state has supreme & absolute authority within its territorial boundary • Government

Theories of the Origin of the State • • Evolutionary Theory. Force Theory. Divine Right Theory. Social Contract Theory-

Purposes of Government • • Maintaining social order Providing public services Providing national security Making economic decisions

Section 2 -Formation of Government • Unitary system-gives all key power to the national or central government • Federal system-divides powers of government between national government and state or provincial governments (sound familiar? ) • Confederacy-loose union of independent states (should also sound familiar-blast from the past!)

Section 2 • Constitution-plan that provides the rules for government; does several things-1)sets out ideals that people bound by constitution believe in & share 2)establishes basic structure of government-defines government’s powers & duties 3)provides supreme law for country

Section 2 • Constitutional government-government in which a constitution has authority to place clearly recognized limits on powers of those who govern • Preamble-intro to Constitution; states major goals of American government • Look at page 14 starting with quotations-Break down the preamble line by line without using their words! Put this in your notebook! We will discuss together.

Section 2 • Constitutional law-interpretation and application of the constitution • Politics-conduct and policies of government • Industrialized nations-page 14 • Developing nations-page 14

Types of Government. Section 3 • Autocracy-oldest, most common forms of government; power and authority to rule in hands of single individual • Totalitarian dictatorship-type of autocracy; ideas of single leader maintaining power

Section 3 • Monarchy-autocratic government where king, queen, or emperor exercises supreme powers of government • Absolute monarchs-complete & unlimited power to rule people (King of Saudi Arabia)

Section 3 • Constitutional monarchs-share governmental powers with elected legislatures (Great Britain, Sweden, Japan, Netherlands) • Oligarchy-system of government in which a small group holds power (hint: Think about oligopoly in econ!)

Section 3 • Democracy-system of government in which rule is by the people • Term democracy comes from Greek demos”the people” kratia-”rule” • People rule; key idea is that the people hold sovereign power (think back to honest Abe & what he described democracy as “government of the people, by the people, & for the people. ”)

Section 3 • Direct democracy-people govern themselves by voting on issues individually as citizens (exists only in very small societies where citizens are able to meet regularly to discuss issues; New England town meetings & cantons of Switzerland)

Section 3 • Representative democracy-people elect representatives and give them responsibility & power to make laws and conduct government • Republic-voters are source of gov’t. authority

Characteristics of Democracy • • Individual liberty Majority rule with minority rights Free elections Competing political parties

Soil of Democracy • • • Active citizen participation Favorable economy Widespread education Strong civil society Social consensus

Create a Preamble for the Class • Have fun creating a class preamble