C1 – Principles of Government
S1 – Government & the State
 Government – institution through
which a society makes & enforces its
public policies (all things that
government decides to do)
 Taxation
 Defense
 Education
 Crime
 Healthcare
 Governments must have
power:
 3 Basic Kinds
 Legislative
 Executive
 Judicial
 Powers outlined in a
constitution
 Body of fundamental
laws setting out the
principles, structures, &
processes of a
government
 A body of people, living in
a defined territory,
organized politically
(government) and with
the power to make &
enforce law without the
consent of any higher
authority
 More than 200 in world
today
 4 Characteristics
 Population
 Territory
 Sovereignty
 Government
 State must have people
 May or may not be
homogenous
 State must have land –
geographic region with
know & recognized
boundaries
 Supreme and absolute
power within its own
territory and can decide
its own foreign &
domestic policies
 The states within the US
are not sovereign?
 Why?
 Every state has a
government
 Necessary to avoid “the
war of every man
against every man” –
Thomas Hobbes
 Four theories – no
conclusive evidence
 Force Theory
 Evolutionary Theory
 Divine Right
 Social Contract
 An individual or group
claimed control over a
territory and forced the
population to submit. In
this way, the state became
sovereign, and those in
control formed a
government
 A population formed out
of a 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
 God created the state,
making it sovereign. The
government is made up of
those chosen by God to
rule a certain territory.
The people (population)
must obey their ruler
 A population in a given
place (territory) gave up
as much power to a
government as needed to
promote the well-being of
all. In doing so, they
created a sovereign state.
 State arose out of
voluntary act of free
people
 Preamble to the
Constitution
 Form a More Perfect
Union
 Establish Justice
 Insure Domestic
Tranquility
 Provide for the Common
Defense
 Promote the General
Welfare
 Secure the Blessings of
Liberty