U. S.
GOVERNMENT
UNIT 1:
FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN
GOVERNMENT
CONSTITUTIONAL
PRINCIPLES
1. Popular SovereigntyThe Declaration of Independence embraced the theory that people from governments
to protect their natural rights, and that the powers of government must be based on the
consent of the governed. In doing so, the document justified the colonies’ split from
Great Britain and established precedent for a government that is responsible to its people.
2. Separation of PowersThe Constitution gives certain power to each branch of government. Distributing
government’s powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches prevents any
one branch from exercising too much authority.
3. FederalismIn the United States, powers are divided between the National Government and the State
governments. Thus, the Constitution helps to ensure the National Government’s strength,
while protecting the uniqueness of State governments.
CHAPTER 1
PRINCIPLES
OF
GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT and the STATE
GOVERNMENT –
Is the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public
Policies.
PUBLIC POLICIES –
Those things a governmen decides to do.
Taxation
Defense
Education
Crime
Health Care
Transportation
Environment
Civil Rights
Human Rights
Working Conditions
and etc….
Power –
is the ability to command or prevent action and/or the ability to achieve a desired end.
Three (3) types of government powers:
1) Legislative Power – the power to make laws and frame public policies.
2) Executive Power – the power to execute, enforce, and administer law.
3) Judicial Power – the power to interpret laws, to determine their meaning
to settle disputes that arise within a society
Constitution –
is a make up of fundamental laws establishing the principles, structures and
processes of a government.
The types of Government1) Dictatorship – power is held by either a small group or a single person.
Ruling body is not responsible to the people
2) Democracy Responsibility for the exercise of these powers rests with the
majority of the people.
Supreme authority rests with the people.
POLITICS IS A PROCESS BY WHICH GOVERNMENT IS CONDUCTED!!!
GOVERNMENT and the STATE
THE STATE–
Emerged as a the dominant political unit in the world.
Can be 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 higher authority.
FOUR (4) CHARACTERISTICS OF A STATE–
Population – is not necessarily related to it being a state
San Marino, Italy 27,000
People’s Republic of China 1.3 billion
Territory – It must have land with recognizable boundaries.
San Marino, Italy 27 square miles
Russia 6.6 million square miles
Sovereignty – the state has supreme and absolute power inside its borders
Creates its own policies, foreign and domestic
Government – Every state creates its own government
The way in which a society makes and enforces its public policies.
WHY IS GOVERNMENT NECESSARY?
“Government is necessary to avoid what
the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes
(1588-1679) called ‘the war of every man
against every man.’ Without
government, said Hobbes, there would
be ‘continual fear and danger of violent
death and life [would be] solidarity,
poor, nasty, brutish, and short.’”
MAJOR POLITICAL IDEAS
THE FORCE THEORY– the belief that the state came to be because of force.
THE EVOLUTIONARY THEORY – state developed naturally out of the early family.
THE DIVINE RIGHT THEORY– widely accepted from 15th through 18th century.
God created the state and gave those of royal birth “divine right” to rule.
People were required to obey ruler as they would obey God.
The development of democracies caused for the questioning of this theory.
THE SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY– of the theories this is the most significant.
Theory was developed in the 17th and 18th centuries by:
Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679) / James Harrington (1611 – 1677)
John Locke (1632 – 1704) / Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778)
Individuals agreed to give up enough self power in order to promote the safety and
well-being of all. (Arose out of a voluntary act)
THE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT
FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION– links states together under a united front.
ESTABLISH JUSTICE– means the law, in both its content and its administration, must
be reasonable, fair and impartial. Justice is a concept that must continually develop!!
“Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere.” MLKJR.
INSURE DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY – order is essential to the well-being of any
society.
PROVIDE for the COMMON DEFENSE– defense of a nation against enemies is a
major responsibility of government. Throughout our Constitution defense is
continually mentioned.
THE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT
CONTINUED
PROMOTE the GENERAL WELFARE– government’s means in which it provides for
its citizens.
Public Schools
Clean Water
Clean Air
Food we Eat
SECURE the BLESSINGS of LIBERTY– to ensure that we are always free and safe.
Benjamin Franklin’s maxim – “They that give up essential liberty to obtain a
little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Thomas Jefferson’s belief- “the God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same
time.”
Our Constitutions (fed/state) establish many guarantees of our liberties.
CHAPTER 1
SECTION 2
FORMS OF
GOVERNMENT
WHY IT MATTERS
Governments come in many different forms democratic or dictatorial, unitary or federal or
confederate, presidential or parliamentary. But,
whatever its form, government has an impact on
nearly every moment and nearly every aspect of your
life.
CLASSIFYING GOVERNMENTS
• Is there any two governments exactly alike?
• May be similar but alike
• How do we determine the type of government?
• Who can participate in governing process
• Geographic distribution of governmental power within
state
• Relationship between legislative and executive branches
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
DEMOCRACY
• Political authority rests with the people
• People hold sovereign power
• “government of the people, by the
people, and for the people.” AL
• Direct Democracy
• The will of the people is translated to
public policy by the people themselves.
• Indirect Democracy
• Small group of people chosen by the
people act as representatives.
DICTATORSHIP
• Those who rule cannot be held responsible
to the will of the people.
• Not accountable for its policies.
• Oldest and most common in history.
• Autocracy
• Single person holds unlimited political
power.
• Fascist Italy
• Nazi Germany
• Soviet Union
• Oligarchy
• Rule is done by a small group
• Self-appointed
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
of POWER
●
UNITARY GOVERNMENT
○ Centralized
○ Power held by single
central agency
○ Creates local units of
government for
convenience
○ Local governments
have only power that
central government
gives it.
• Most governments are unitary in form
• Great Britain
• Parliament holds all government power
• Gives local government their power
• Do not confuse with dictatorship
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
of POWER (continued)
●
Federal Government
○ Power divided
between central and
local governments.
○ Superior to both
central and local
governments.
○ Creates the division of
powers
■ based on
geographics
• United States
• Constitution
• National government
• State government
• Can only be changed by the people
acting through the government bodies.
• Other Countries
• Australia - Canada - Mexico - Switzerland Germany - India - etc….
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
of POWER (continued)
●
Confederate Government
○ Alliance of
independent states
○ Central organization
○ Handles only what
states give it
■ Defense
■ Trade
• Typically cannot make laws that apply to people
• Allows states to work together while maintaining
individual identity
• Very rare in modern times.
• European Union
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEGISLATIVE
AND EXECUTIVE BRANCHES
Presidential Government Executive and Legislative branches are
separate
Parliamentary Government Executive is made up of a Premier or
PM
Chosen independently from each other
Are members of legislative branch
Hold office for fixed terms
PM is leader of majority party
Unable to block actions by other branch
United States invented form
Executive branch is chosen by
legislative
Most governments in world are in
Parliamentary form.
CHAPTER 1
SECTION 3
BASIC
CONCEPTS OF
DEMOCRACY
WHY IT MATTERS
Democracy insists on the fundamental importance of
each and every individual. The free enterprise system
is a natural counterpart to democracy - for it, too, is
built on the concept of individualism.
FOUNDATIONS
❖ Why does the United States have a democracy?
➢ Is it just because its the best political system in the world?
➢ Is it because we (the people) believe in it?
❖ “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise? Indeed, it has
been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all
those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” WC (1874-1965)
❖ Democracy rest on five (5) basic concepts:
➢ The recognition of the fundamental worth and dignity of every person.
➢ A respect for the equality of all persons.
➢ A faith in majority rule and an insistence upon minority rights.
➢ An acceptance of the necessity of compromise.
➢ An insistence upon the widest possible degree of individual freedom.
WORTH of the INDIVIDUAL
• Individuals have more dignity and value is overriding in
democratic thought.
• Places more importance on the individual
• The caveat is that of the masses
• Sometimes a few must be sacrificed for the good of all.
EQUALITY of ALL PERSONS
• Everyone is equal.
• “all men are created equal.” TJ
• We are all different
• We are not all guaranteed equal share of goods
• Equality of opportunity
• Equality before the law
• treated the same
• not punished because of race, sex, religion and etc…
• Are we a country of equality?
MAJORITY RULE,
MINORITY RIGHTS
• People determines public policy not elected officials
• What is the concept?
The majority will be right more often than they are wrong and the majority will be right
more often than will any one person or small group.
• Does the democratic process seek the right or best answer?
• No! it looks for solutions to public problems.
• Constantly looks to improve solutions
• Situations/circumstances are constantly changing
• Without minority rights keeping the majority rule in check the
majority rule could destroy the minority.
NECESSITY of COMPROMISE
• Democracy cannot be successful without compromise.
• Give and Take
• Two major reasons
• individual is put first and equal to everyone else
• few public questions have only two sides
• is there a right and wrong answer?
• Compromise allows us to achieve a majority agreement
INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM
• Can democracy survive without individual freedom?
• It cannot insist on complete individual freedom
• Anarchy - The absence of government
• Must be free to do as we choose as long as freedom of
all will allow.
• Oliver Wendell Holmes - “The right to swing my fist ends
where the other man’s nose begins.”
• It is a balance between liberty and authority.
DEMOCRACY and the FREE
ENTERPRISE SYSTEM
❖ The freedom of a country’s individuals can not only be seen in the political
system but also in its economics.
➢ Free Enterprise System - is an economic system characterized by
the private ownership of capital good, investments made by
private decision, not by government directive, and success or
failure determined by competition in the marketplace.
➢ Four (4) fundamental factors:
■ Private ownership,
■ Individual initiative
■ Profit
■ Competition
❖ How the System Works
➢ Often called capitalism
➢ Known as private enterprise system
➢ Known as market-based system.
➢ Does not rely on government work
● producing of items, how much of an item, cost of item
➢ Law of Supply and Demand- when supplies of goods and services
become plentiful, prices tend to drop. Supplies become scarcer,
prices tend to rise.
❖ Are democracy and free enterprise the same thing?
➢ one is political system
➢ one is an economic system
➢ both rely on the concept of individual freedom.
GOVERNMENT and the FREE
ENTERPRISE SYSTEM
❖ Mixed Economy - an economy in which private enterprise exists in
combination with a considerable amount of government regulation
and promotion.
➢ Two purposes:
■ To protect the public
■ To preserve private enterprise
● How does it protect the public while preserving private enterprise.
➢ Is seen at every level in the United States from local to federal
■ antitrust laws
■ pure food and drug laws
■ anti-pollution standards
■ zoning ordinances
■ building codes
❖ Abraham Lincoln - “The legitimate object of government, is to do for a
community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at
all, or can not, so well do, for themselves - in their separate, and individual
capacities.” July 1, 1854
➢ What was he trying to convey?
■ Assistance from government should only be their to enhance the
individual’s (community’s) ability to take care of themselves.