Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Section 1

GOVERNMENT
• The institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies.
POWERS OF EVERY
GOVERNMENT
• Legislative – power to make laws and to frame public policies
• Executive – power to execute, enforce, and administer law
• Judicial – power to interpret laws, determine meaning of laws, and to settle disputes that arise within the society

Constitution
• The body of fundamental laws setting out the principles, structures, and processes of a government.

State
• Defined as a body of people living in a defined
territory, organized politically (government), and with the power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority
Examples of States

FOUR CHARACTERSITICS OF A STATE
Every state in the world possesses four characteristics, each of which may vary widely from state to state.
Population Territory Sovereignty Government
Large or small, every state must be inhabited – that is, have a population.
Every state must have land, with known and recognized borders.
The state has absolute power within its territory. It can decide its own foreign and domestic policies.
Government is the mechanism through which a state makes and enforces its policies.
States are often called “nation” or a “country”.

Why is Florida not a
“state”?
• Florida has:
• Defined territory
• Population
• Government
• But lacks, sovereignty
Why do we call Florida a
“state”?
• Underneath the Articles of Confederation, the individual states had the power.

U.S.A vs. Florida
POPULATION
TERRITORY
GOVERNMENT
SOVERIEGNTY
USA
√
√
√
√
FLORIDA
√
√
√

• Many theories have been developed to explain the origins of the state.
• These include the force theory, the evolutionary theory, the divine right theory, and the social contract theory.

• The force theory holds that an individual or group claims control over a territory and forces the population to submit.
• The state then becomes sovereign and those in control form a government.

• The evolutionary theory says that a population formed out of primitive families.
• The heads of these families became the government.
• When these families settled in one territory and claimed it as their own, they became a sovereign state.

• The divine right theory holds that God created the state, making it sovereign.
• The government is made up of those chosen by God to rule a certain territory. The population must obey their ruler.

• Checkpoint: What is the Social Contract Theory?
• The social contract theory was developed by philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes,
John Locke, and Jean
Jacques Rousseau and has had the greatest influence on United States government.
• This theory holds that the people chose to give the state enough power to promote the well-being of everyone and that all political power comes from the will of the people.

• Social contract theory holds that the people can withhold power from an unjust government.
• In the political cartoon, what types of government might restrict people from “having it as good as this”?

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union , establish
Justice , insure domestic Tranquility , provide for the common defence , 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.

Form a More Perfect Union “belief that in a union there is strength”
Establish Justice Laws must be reasonable and fair
Insure Domestic Tranquility Keeping peace within our borders; keeping peace “at home”
Provide for the Common
Defense
Protecting the nation against foreign enemies
Promote General Welfare Provides benefits to the people of the state; public schools, clean drinking water, safe food, etc…
Secure the Blessings of
Liberty
Protects our rights and liberties as citizens of the USA

Chapter 1 Section 2

Democracy
• Supreme political authority rests with the people.
• Direct
• Indirect
Dictatorship
• Exists where those who rule cannot be held responsible to the will of the people.
• Autocracy
• Oligarchy

DEMOCRACY DICTATORSHIP (oldest form of government)
Oligarchy Autocracy Direct (Pure)
• Occurs when the will of the people is translated into laws directly by the people.
• Works only on a small, local level.
Indirect
(Representative)
• A group of person chosen by the people to express the will of the people.
• Widely used on a national,
State, and local level.
Example: Town meetings
Example:
Legislator votes
• Government in which the power to rule is held by a small, usually self-appointed elite.
Example: Soviet
Union
(Communist
Party)
• Government in which a single person holds unlimited power.
Example: Hitler

Distribution of Power
Power can be distributed between central (national) and local governments in three different ways.
Federal Government Confederate Government Unitary Government
Local Central
Central Local
Powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments.
The National government and the State are co-equal partners in the federal system.
Central
Is an alliance of independent states
Local
All powers held by the government belong to a single, central government
Most power belongs to the local
(regional) governments. The central government has only limited power.
Power resides with the central government, which creates local governments.
Most common form of

What is the Relationship between the
Executive and Legislative Branch?
Presidential
• Separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches.
• Branches are independent of one another, but coequal.
• Chief executive is chosen independently of the legislature.
• Example: USA
Parliamentary
• Executive branch is made up of the prime minister or premier
• Prime minister and cabinet members are a part of the legislative branch
• The chief executive is chosen by the leading party in the legislature.
• Example: Costa Rica

1. Who can participate? Democracy/Dictatorship
2. Where is the power? Unitary/Federal
3. What is the relationship between the legislative and executive branches? Presidential/Parliamentary
DEMOCRACY
UNITARY FEDERAL
PARLIAMENTARY
Botswana
Costa Rica
PRESIDENTIAL
France
PARLIAMENTARY
India
PRESIDENTIAL
Brazil
United States

1. Who can participate? Democracy/Dictatorship
2. Where is the power? Unitary/Federal
3. What is the relationship between the legislative and executive branches? Presidential/Parliamentary
DICTATORSHIP
UNITARY FEDERAL
PARLIAMENTARY
Cuba
PRESIDENTIAL
Syria
PARLIAMENTARY PRESIDENTIAL

Chapter 1 Section 3

Equality of
All Persons
Worth of an
Individual
Individual
Freedom
Democracy
Majority
Rule;
Minority
Rights
Necessity of
Compromise

Worth of an Individual
• Each individual is a separate and distinct being
Equality of all Persons
• “All men are created equal”
 Thomas Jefferson
• Concept of equality means that every persons is entitled to:
1.
Equality of opportunity
2.
Equality before the law
( no one should be held back based on race, religion, color, or gender
)
Ex. Brown v. Board of Education

Majority Rule, Minority Rights
• Majority will be right more often than it will be wrong; however, democracy requires majority rule restrained by minority rights
• The majority must be willing to listen to a minority’s argument, to hear its objections, to bear its criticisms, and to welcome suggestions.
Necessity of Compromise
• Compromise is the process of blending and adjusting competing views and interests.
• Compromise has two essential parts:
1.
Democracy puts the individual first; individuals are equal
2.
Questions usually only have two sides

Individual Freedom
• Each individual must be as free to do as he or she pleases as far as the freedom of all will allow.
• “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins”
• Justice Oliver
Wendall Holmes

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