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AMERICAN GOVERNMENT El Dorado HS Mr. Ruiz, Fall 2015

Explore the concept of government and the state, including their defining characteristics, powers, and major political ideas. Learn about different forms of government and the importance of public participation.

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AMERICAN GOVERNMENT El Dorado HS Mr. Ruiz, Fall 2015

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  1. AMERICAN GOVERNMENTEl Dorado HS Mr. Ruiz, Fall 2015 Government and the State Retrieved from: http://www.carestream.com/us-government.html

  2. “ IF MEN WERE ANGELS, NO GOVERNMENT WOULD BE NECESSARY.”-JAMES MADISONIndependent JournalWednesday, 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?

  3. Objectives • Definegovernment and the basic powers every government holds. • Describethe (4) defining characteristics of the state. • Explain major political ideas in history. Retrieved: http://www.smallgovtimes.com/article/government-non-shutdown/

  4. What is Government? • Governmentis: • 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/

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. The (4) Characteristics of a State • Population • Territory • Sovereignty • Government • 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.

  8. MajorPolitical 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

  9. 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

  10. 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)

  11. 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)

  12. 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: • Autocracy: A single person holds unlimited political power. • Oligarchy: A small or self appointed elite group usually hold the power to rule.

  13. 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

  14. Differences between the Presidential Form of Government and the Parliamentary Government Retrieved from: http://www.somalicurrent.com/2013/11/12/constitutional-crises-in-somalia/

  15. 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

  16. 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/

  17. 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 • Private ownership • Individual initiate • Profit • Competition Retrieved from: http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=urE8XatPDn8i3M&tbnid=5EQhQRhCfkmiDM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.salon.com%2F2012%2F11%2F29%2Fgallup_americans_prefer_free_enterprise_to_big_business_or_capitalism%2F&ei=_MvFUsKQPMSZ2QW79IHIBw&bvm=bv.58187178,d.b2I&psig=AFQjCNEpaWstPrZ6EB56fHg3LuJLAj8Yww&ust=1388780912801646

  18. 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

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