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