Foundations of Government
Government
Monarchy

Absolute power with one person or a small
group with hereditary rule.
Dictatorship

Autocratic form of government.
Government is ruled usually by one
person, or a group with absolute power.
Theocracy

God or deity is state’s supreme ruler.
Leaders act in accordance with God’s will –
divine guidance
Oligarchy

Power rests with a small group of elite
people. Usually royal, wealthy or having
military power.
Parliamentary Government

Executive branch is drawn from the
legislature – prime minister
Unitary Government

Sovereignty is in the central government
Proportional Plan

Percentage of votes that a group’s
candidates obtain in the elections is close
to the percentage of seats in Legislature
they receive.
Democracy

Power is derived from the people by direct
democracy or by representatives chosen
by the people
Representative Government

Elected individuals represent the people.
Republic

People or some portion of the population
retain supreme control over the
government. – No monarch
Direct Democracy

People are sovereign. People make all the
decisions in government by voting.
Separation of Powers

State is divided into branches – each are
separate and independent powers and
have different areas of responsibility
Rule of Law

No one is immune to the law, even a king.
Civic Virtue

Habits of personal living that are
important to the success of the
community.
Social Contract

People form states to maintain social
order.
 Consent
of the governed
 Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau
Natural Rights

Rights all people should have.
 Universal
 Life,
Liberty, Property
Greek Guy

First Known democracy.
 City-state
of Athens
 Direct Democracy
 Citizenship – adult males that completed
military training
 No Slaves, Women or Children
Roman Guy

Republic
 Senate
made decisions
 To be in the Senate – land, aristocrat and had
to be approved
John Locke

Social Contract Theory
 Influenced
by Rousseau
 Influences Thomas Jefferson
 Life, Liberty, Health, Possession
Charles de Montesquieu

Separation of Powers
 Executive,
Legislative, Judicial
 No Power exceeds the other
Thomas Jefferson

Writer of the Declaration of Independence.
 Influenced
by Locke and Rousseau
 Social Contract Theory
 Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness.