The History of Government
Mr. Cline
Civics
Marshall High School
Marshall, IL
Unit One: Presentation One
* Reconciling What Government Should Be With What It Is
• Government is as necessary to the human condition as being in contact with other
humans is.
• The Greek philosopher Aristotle described Humans as “political animals”
because of their instinctual need to socialize and join together
• Whenever two or more humans come together, they must establish the rules
and guidelines for how they will interact with each other, and this is the basis
for government.
• The dictionary definition of government is: “A political system by which a
body of people is administered and regulated. “
• Political systems can range from a small family, to a nation of a billion
people.
• How they are regulated can vary from one strong individual setting the
rules, to many millions
• Throughout the history of government, however, five questions have plagued
governments and people, causing old governments to fall when their answers
to these questions have failed, and causing new forms of government to rise
up when a new answer to these questions has been thought of.
* Reconciling What Government Should Be With What It Is
• These five questions, or problems that have plagued governments throughout all of
human history are:
• What should the level of participation in the government be?
• Should everyone have a say in what the laws and policies are, or is
government best administered by a select few, and if so, how should that
few be chosen?
• Is government best on a large scale covering a wide area and many
peoples, or is government best over a small area, with a smaller
population?
• What is the rightful powers of the executive?
• Does a government need someone to manage day to day affairs, and be
able to respond quickly to emergencies?
• If so, how much power should this individual have to manage these
affairs and act in an emergency?
• Should the executive be able to name his replacement, or appoint others
to wield executive powers?
* Reconciling What Government Should Be With What It Is
• These five questions, or problems that have plagued governments throughout all of
human history are:
• How far should governments go to protect minority rights?
• If a majority of the people want something accomplished, in a particular
way, does everyone have to agree with what needs to be done, and how;
and if so, can or should they be punished for disagreeing?
• Do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?
• Should a small group be able to dictate to a larger one?
• Of course, the smallest minority, is the minority of one, How far should
governments go to protect the rights of the individual?
• Is everyone equal, or do we differ in ways such as our intelligence, our
abilities, etc.; and if so, should everyone have the same rights and
responsibilities under the law?
* Reconciling What Government Should Be With What It Is
• These five questions, or problems that have plagued governments throughout all of
human history are:
• What is the best way to manage the resources available?
• Should everything be divided equally amongst all?
• Should people only get what they have worked for and earned?
• Should the government be involved in distributing resources?
• How governments have answered these five questions is at the heart of the
definitions of various governmental forms, the daily decisions made by them, and
the unhappiness many people often feel regarding their government.
• Man has a myriad of solutions to these vexing questions, but what the right answer
is apparently continues to elude him as arguments over what is the right answer
are ongoing even to this day.
• (Of course, I have the answer for this classroom…………………….)
• In order for there to be a government there must be a state to govern
• To have a state, and therefore a government, requires three things
1.) Population
2.) Territory
3.) Sovereignty
Theories on the Birth of Government:
* Natural Theory‐ Government evolved from the position of head of the
family into a sort of chieftain of a tribe, then towards
monarchy.
* Force Theory‐ Government began as the result of one person, or a
group of persons, imposing their will over others
through might.
* Divine Right Theory‐ States that God or a god created the state,
and gave a singular person or group of
people the authority to govern all others.
Theories on the Birth of Government:
* Social Contract Theory‐ Developed by John Locke, states that
power emanates from the people who
give up some of their rights and
freedoms to a government in exchange
for protection.
“The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to
preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of
created beings capable of law, where there is no law,
there is no freedom.”
“Freedom of men under government is to have a standing
rule to live by, common to every one of that society, and
made by the legislative power vested in it; a liberty to
follow my own will in all things, when the rule prescribes
not, and not to be subject to the inconstant, unknown,
arbitrary will of another man.”
“All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one
ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or
possessions.”
Classifying the Types of Government:
• We can classify governments by three different criteria:
1) Who can participate in government
2) Where the power of government lies geographically
3) The relationship between the law making and law enforcing aspects
Classifying the Types of Government:
* Who Can Govern?
Governments come in only two forms in this regard‐ democracies
or dictatorships. Either power derives from the people, or only an
elite few have the right to rule.
* Democracies‐ They can either be direct or indirect.
* A DIRECT DEMOCRACY is one in which every person participates in the
decision making and law making process.
* An INDIRECT DEMOCRACY is one wherein the people elect representatives
to participate in the decision making and law making process.
Classifying the Types of Government:
* Who Can Govern?
Governments come in only two forms in this regard‐ democracies
or dictatorships. Either power derives from the people, or only an
elite few have the right to rule.
* Dictatorships‐ They can be either autocracies or oligarchies
* An AUTOCRACY is where all of the power is held by one person.
* An OLIGARCHY is where the power is held by an elite few.
Classifying the Types of Government:
* Where Does Power Lie Geographically?
In geographic terms, power can be nearby, and local, or far
away and national, or a mix of the two. There are three terms
we use to classify these:
* Unitary Governments‐ Where all of the power is held by a central
government and all subsidiary divisions of it
represent that central government.
Classifying the Types of Government:
* Where Does Power Lie Geographically?
In geographic terms, power can be nearby, and local, or far
away and national, or a mix of the two. There are three terms
we use to classify these:
* Confederate Governments‐ Where most of the power is held by a
local/regional government and the central
government has little power.
* Federal Governments‐ Where power is shared between
a national central government,
and a local/regional government.
Classifying the Types of Government:
* What is the separation of power between the law making and
law enforcing aspects of government?
The law making part of a government is called the legislative.
The law enforcement part is called the executive. The
division of power between each is classified as Presidential
or Parliamentary.
* Presidential‐ In a Presidential model, eligible voters select the chief
executive apart from the legislative, and this chief executive
selects the people necessary to execute the laws from outside
of the legislature.
Classifying the Types of Government:
* What is the separation of power between the law making and
law enforcing aspects of government?
The law making part of a government is called the legislative.
The law enforcement part is called the executive. The
division of power between each is classified as Presidential
or Parliamentary.
* Parliamentary‐ In a Parliamentary model, eligible voters select the
legislature, and members of the legislature select the
chief executive and others necessary to execute the laws
from amongst their own membership.