What do you think it means to be a citizen? What do citizens expect from
their government? In return, what should citizens do for their government?
Are there benefits to being a citizen?
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What is Civics?
-Civics
-Study of Citizenship and
Government
•
Rights and duties of
citizenship
-Citizen
1. Owe loyalty to government
The White House
2. Expect protection from
government
3. Accept government authority
-Government: ruling authority
for a group of people
The U.S. Capitol Building
The Common Good
--The ultimate role of
the government is to
do the greatest good
to the greatest
number of people
without harming others
How do these two
pictures represent
the government’s
role in providing
for the “common
good”?
Why We Need Gov’t?
-Make laws
• Provide security, guide
the community
-Keep Order
-Provide Services
-prevent anarchy
-the absence of any form
of government
Water
Treatment
Plant
Levels of Government
-National
• President, U.S. Congress,
Supreme Court
-State
• Governor, State
Congress, State Courts
-Local
County
• School board
City
• City council
Democracy
-republics-- rule by the
consent of the people
• Other people represent you
-democracy
-direct democracy-a form
of government where each
citizens has an actual say in
the affairs of government
• Ex: town meeting
-representative
democracy-a form of
government where citizens
elect representatives to
make decisions for them
• Ex: Student council
Why is
democracy a
challenge?
Monarchy
-monarchy
-form of government led
by a king or a queen
-absolute monarchy
• King/Queen has all the
power
-limited monarchy
• King/Queen shares
power with the people
The Queen of England, Elizabeth II,
is a limited monarch who must share
her power with England’s
representative body, the Parliament.
Socialist
-socialist
Type of government where
individuals and
government share
ownership in major
businesses and
government takes on a
greater role in citizen’s
lives.
Communist
-communist
Type of government where
the government owns and
controls all aspects of
life for its citizens
Authoritarian
-dictatorship-Type of
government that is
usually controlled by one
person who allows very
little freedom or
opposition
-totalitarianism-Form of
government where little
freedom or opposition is
allowed
-oligarchy-Government
that is ruled by a small
group of people
Religious
-theocracy
Type of government that is
ruled by religious leaders
Pope Benedict XVII rules over the
Catholic church and the smallest
country in the world, Vatican City.