1. Foundations of American Government
Chapter 1

2. Four Main Purposes of Government
Maintain Social Order
Provide National Security
Provide Publix Services
Make Economic Decisions

3. How do various theories explain the origin of government?
Governments evolved
Emerged under a single authority
Were chosen by Gods
Were formed through a social contract

4. Vocabulary
State – identifies a political community that that occupies a definite territory and has an organized government with power to make and enforce laws without approval of higher authority.
Example – United States
One of 200 States in the World

5. Nation Describes an independent state or nation.
Any sizable group of people who are united by common bonds (race, language, customs, traditions).
Note Exceptions…a little confusing!
Nation-state term – describes two different nations within a state (France)
Canada – a nation with different states

6. Consensus
Population – the most obvious essential for a state is people
Stability – population that shares a general political and socials consensus (or agreement) about basic beliefs, have stable governments

7. Territory A state has established boundaries
US – boundaries are the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans & Mexico/Canada.
Territories come from War or Negotiations, see map on page 7 for examples.
Virgin Islands, Guam

8. Sovereignty Sovereignty is a key characteristic of a state.
Political Sovereignty – state has supreme and absolute authority within its territorial boundaries.
Complete Independence
Supreme/absolute authority to make laws shape foreign policy
Note – no state has the right to interfere with the internal affairs of another state.

9. Theories
Evolutionary – state evolved from family, then extended family – organizing along the way
Force – all the people of an area were brought under the authority of one person or group.
Divine Right – God or gods have chosen certain people to rule.
Social Contract – supported the writings of philosophers, believing in the origin of a state was in a social contract.
“are implied agreements by which people form and maintain a social order.”

10. Comparing Thomas Hobbes and John Locke - Social Contract Theory
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke both believed that people surrendered to the state the power needed to maintain order, but Locke believed that people had the right to break that contract when government failed to preserve the rights of people. Hobbes did not believe that right

11. Government Systems
Unitary System – gives all key powers to the national or central government.
Create state, provincial or local governments with limited sovereignty
Great Britain
Italy
France
Federal System- divides the powers of government between national, state or provincial government.
US – developed a federal system after the 13 colonies became states.
Confederacy – a loose union of independent states.

12. Constitutions and Government
Constitution – a plan that provided the rules for government.
Sets Ideals
Sets basic structure
Provides Supreme Law
Constitution Government – a constitution that has authority to place clearly recognized limits on the powers who govern.

13. Other Constitution terms
Preamble – statement that sets forth the goals and purpose.
Framework – main body of constitution divided into parts called articles and sections.
Constitutional law – interpretation and application of the constitution.
Supreme Law for all states

14. Politics
The effort to control or influence the conduct and policies of government.
Importance
Conflicts of society are managed
Peaceful way to compete with each other
Key matters can be solved

15. Industrialized Nations
About 20 state are known as this
US, Japan, Canada, Australia, France
Large Industry
Advanced Technology
Overall comfortable way of life

16. Developing Nations Only beginning to develop Industrially
Approx 100 countries
Starvation, disease, political turmoil are a way of life
A fraction of income per person compared to other countries
Examples – South Africa (parts) & Southeast Asia (parts)
Newly Industrialized –Mexico, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Algeria, Kenya

17. Major Types of Government
Autocracy – Any system of government in which the power and authority rule in the hands of a single individual
Oldest and most common form
Totalitarian Dictatorship – ideas of a single leader are glorified.
Hitler – Germany ( )
Mussolini – Italy ( )
In this dictatorship, gov’t is not responsible to the people, the people lack the power to limit their rulers

18. Monarchy Another form of Autocracy
King, Queen or Emperor – exercise supreme powers of government
Absolute Monarchy – complete and unlimited power to rule their people.
King of Saudi Arabia (rare now – common in the ’s)
Constitutional Monarchs – share governmental powers with elected legislatures or just ceremonial leaders

19. Oligarchy Any system of government in which a small group holds power.
Derives power from wealth, military power, social position or a combo of all.
Sometimes Religion
Communist Countries – China
Leaders and armed forces control the government.

20. Democracy Any system of government in which rule is by the people.
Key idea is people hold sovereign power.
“Gov’t of the people, by the people, and for the people” Abraham Lincoln

21. Democracy – 2 Forms
Representative – people elect representatives and give them responsibility and power to make laws and conduct government.
Practiced in cities and states
Republic – voters are the source of the governments authority
Direct – people govern themselves by voting on issues individually as citizens
No country today uses this

22. Characteristics of Democracy
Individual Liberty
Equal opportunity
Majority Rule with Minority Rights
Respect for minority rights

23. Economic Theories
Economics –can be defined as the study of human efforts to satisfy seemingly unlimited wants through the use of limited resources.
Resources – natural materials (land, water, minerals and trees)
Not enough resources available therefore we must decide how these resources are to be used.

24. Capitalism 5 Main Characteristics
Private ownership and control of property and economic resources
Free Enterprise
Competition among businesses
Freedom of Choice
The possibility of Profits

25. Origins of Capitalism Gradually developed
People can work for economic gain
Wealth should be used aggressively
Free Market – buyers and sellers are free to make unlimited economic decisions in the marketplace
Competition – plays a key role.
Laissez faire – to let alone .
Government should keep hands off the economy.

26. Governmental Influence
Increasing since the 1900’s
Protects the consumer
Meat Inspection Act
Pure Food and Drug act
Great Depression – 1930’s
Social Security set up
Social Programs
Public Corporations set up

27. Mixed Market Economies
Free enterprise combined with support by government agencies in the marketplace.
This is what the American Economy is.
Rooted deeply in idea of individual initiative
Respects right of all persons to own private property
Recognizes freedom to make economics choices is part of the freedom of political choice.

28. Socialism
The government owns the basic means of production, determines the use of their sources, distributes products and provides services.
3 Goals
Distribution of wealth equally among people
Society’s control through its gov’t, of all major decisions about production
Public ownership of most land, factories, and other means of production

29. Democratic Socialism
The Socialists who believed in peaceful changes wanted to work with in the democratic political system to improve economic conditions.
Government owns basic means of production and makes most democratic decisions
Tanzania, Denmark, Norway & Sweden

30. Communism
Karl Marx – German writer who was socialist, published his ideas in a pamphlet – “The Communist Manifesto”