AMERICAN
GOVERNMENT
EL DORADO HS
MR. RUIZ, FALL 2015
GOVERNMENT AND THE
STATE
Retrieved from: http://www.carestream.com/us-government.html
“ IF MEN WERE ANGELS, NO
GOVERNMENT WOULD BE
NECESSARY.”
-JAMES MADISON
INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1788
WHAT DO YOU THINK MADISON MEANT BY THIS FAMOUS
QUOTE?
DO YOU TRUST OUR GOVERNMENT? WHY OR WHY NOT?
WHAT GOVERNMENT ROLE IS MOST IMPORTANT TO
YOU?
IF THE POSSIBILITY EXISTED, HOW WOULD YOU CHANGE
OUR GOVERNMENT? AND WHY?
OBJECTIVES
• Define government and the basic powers every government holds.
• Describe the (4) defining characteristics of the state.
• Explain major political ideas in history.
Retrieved: http://www.smallgovtimes.com/article/government-non-shutdown/
WHAT IS GOVERNMENT?
• Government is:
– The institution
through which a
society makes
and enforces its
public policies.
– Made up of the
people who
exercise its
powers and who
have the
authority and
control over a
county’s people.
• Public policies:
– Those things such as:
– taxation
– education
– crime
– health
– and environment
that governments are
expected to be responsible
for.
Retrieved from: http://drleonardcoldwell.com/2013/10/11/obamas-government-shutdown-is-entirely-contrived-83-of-government-still-running/
ALL GOVERNMENTS EXERCISE (3) BASIC
KINDS OF POWER:
• Legislative power:
The power to make law and
frame public policies.
• Executive power:
The power to execute, enforce
and administer law.
• Judicial power:
The power to interpret laws,
determine their meaning, and
settle disputes that arise
within a society.
Retrieved from: https://www.usa.gov/branches-of-government
THE STATE
• Defined as a body of people living in a defined territory,
organized politically, and with the power to make and enforce law
without the consent of any higher authority
• There are 206 nations (unofficially), with 195 nations on earth
according to and recognized by the United Nations. On July 11,
2011, South Sudan became the latest recognized nation.
• Interestingly, Taiwan may be considered by some as number 196,
since it operates as an independent state, many States; however,
believe it to still be a province of China. Nations wishing to have
diplomatic relations with China must dissolve political
recognition of Taiwan as an independent nation.
Retrieved from: http://www.greenbang.com/footprints-of-nations-no-more-hiding-outsourced-carbon_10286.html
THE (4) CHARACTERISTICS OF A STATE
• Population
• Territory
• Sovereignty
• A state must have people,
• A state must have land with
known and recognized
boundaries.
• A state must be sovereign
(i.e., supreme and absolute
power within its own
territory.
• A state must be politically
organized.
• Government
MAJOR POLITICAL IDEAS
• No one truly knows how states came about; however, most scholars
believe the following (4)explanations as the most likely:
• The Force Theory- Holds that most states developed when one person or
group took control of over a region and forced all within to submit to their
rule.
• The Devine Right Theory- The belief during 15th-18th centuries that God
created the state and chose those of royal birth to rule; to oppose the rulers
was to oppose God.
• The Evolutionary Theory- Hold that the family unit was the initial step to the
development of the state; as families grew, so did their social and political
interaction with one another.
• The Social Contract Theory- Holds that people agreed to give up to the state as
much power as needed in exchange for the safety and well-being of all
Forms of Government
Objectives:
•
Identify the characteristics of classic forms of government
•
Define systems of government based on who can participate
•
Analyze advantages and disadvantages of federal, confederate, and
unitary systems of government
•
Analyze advantages and disadvantages of presidential and
parliamentary systems
CLASSIC FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
 The following forms of government have
appeared throughout history at one time
or another:
Feudalism- Based on the rule of local lords bound to
a king by ties of loyalty. (ex. medieval times)
Classic Republic- (Associated with Greek and
Roman forms of government). A small group
of elected leaders represents the concerns of
the electorate (those they represent. (ex. most
modern democracies)
Absolute Monarchy- Forms of govt. where a
king/queen holds total control. (ex. King
Henry the VIII)
Authoritarianism- Forms of govt. where an
individual or group has unlimited authority
(ex. Cuba’s Castro)
Despotism-A tyrannical ruler with absolute
power( ex. Iraq's Sadam Hussein)
Liberal Democracy- Focused on the
protection of individual rights from the
majority (ex. U.S. , U.K.)
Totalitarianism-Type of govt. that attempt to
control all facets of its citizen’s lives (ex.
Socialism, Communism)
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
• Democracy:
• Supreme political authority rest with the people.
• Government is conducted only with the consent of the people
• Can be in the form of direct/pure democracy (town meetings or
small communities where the people can directly decide policy)
• Indirect democracy, representatives are chosen to represent the
will of the people( Characteristic of large societies)
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE (CONT.)
• Dictatorship:
• All dictatorships are authoritarian; those in power hold absolute
authority over their people.
• Those who rule cannot be held responsible to the will of the people.
Two types to consider:
1. Autocracy: A single person holds unlimited political power.
2. Oligarchy: A small or self appointed elite group usually hold the
power to rule.
SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT
• Unitary Government
Centralized government where the
governmental power is held by a single or
central agency that create local units of govt.
that posses only those powers given by the
central government.
–
–
Most world governments are unitary in form.
England’s parliament creates local governments
for its convenience.
• Federal Government
Governmental powers are divided between a
central government and several local
governments.
–
The United States’ national government has
certain powers and the 50 States have others.
• Confederate
Government
An alliance of independent states. A
confederate govt. handle only those matters
that member states assign it to do.
–
Rare form of govt. today; The European Union
presently the closest to this form of govt.
• Presidential Government
The executive and legislative are separate but
equal entities that posses checks and balances
practices with one another
• Parliamentary
Government
The executive (Prime minister or premier)
offices are themselves members of the
legislative branch
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE PRESIDENTIAL FORM OF
GOVERNMENT AND THE PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT
Retrieved from: http://www.somalicurrent.com/2013/11/12/constitutional-crises-in-somalia/
Basic Concepts of Democracy
Objectives:
• Evaluate when the obligation of citizenship requires that personal
interest be subordinated to the common good.
• Analyze the connection between democracy and the free
enterprise system
• Analyze the potential impact of the internet on democracy
CITIZENSHIP IN A DEMOCRACY
Democracy will continue to exists in our country while the
American people believe in its basic concepts and continue to
subscribe and practice them.
The American notions of democracy:
• Recognition of the fundamental worth and dignity of every
person
• Respect for the equality of all persons
• Faith in majority rule and an insistence upon minority rights
• Acceptance of the necessity of compromise
• Insistence upon the widest possible degree of individual
freedom
Retrieved from: http://ideandonuestraciudad.wordpress.com/about/
DEMOCRACY AND THE FREE ENTERPRISE
SYSTEM
Our American economic system is often called the free enterprise system.
Characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods and
investment decision carried out by private entities rather than state
control.
Based on four fundamental factors
1.
2.
3.
4.
Private ownership
Individual initiate
Profit
Competition
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DEMOCRACY AND THE INTERNET
 The Internet
 Born in 1969, as a result of the Defense
Department’s aims to allow its scientist to
communicate more effectively with one
another.
 Further developed by the private sector, it
now enables millions of world wide users to
communicate and inform themselves.
 How can the internet affect our
governmental and political environments?
•
i.e., How has the internet changed the
way we view our government and the
world today?
Retrieved from: http://www.neatorama.com/2009/11/11/internet-wars-the-ongoing-battle-over-how-the-web-is-run/#!raqt7