Government and the StateU.S. Government Chapter 1 – Section 1

Political Dictionary

Government

Public policy

Legislative

power

Executive power

Judicial power

Constitution

Dictatorship

Democracy

State

Sovereign

Objectives/Standards

Section Objectives: Define government and the basic powers every

government holds Describe the four defining characteristics of the

state Identify four theories that attempt to explain the

origin of the state Understand the purpose of government in the

United States and other countries.

4.4 Understand the basic features of major forms of governance in the world.

United States Capital BuildingWashington D.C.

United States Capital BuildingU.S. House of Representatives

United States Capital BuildingU.S. House Senate

U.S. Capital Rotunda Washington D.C.

U.S. Capital Rotunda The Apotheosis of George Washington

U.S. Capital Rotunda The Apotheosis of George Washington

U.S. Capital BuildingWashington D.C.

What is Government?

Government- the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies.

Those public polices are everything government decides to do.

Public policy includes (but is not limited to): Taxation Defense Education Health Care Civil Rights Environment

What is Government?

Every government has three types of power: Legislative power – the power to make law Executive power – the power to execute,

administer and enforce law Judicial power – the power to interpret law

These powers are often outlined in a country’s constitution

Constitution – a body of fundamental laws

What is Government?

Dictatorship – ultimate power is held by one person Autocracy Oligarchy

Democracy – supreme authority is held by the people Presidential Parliamentary

The State

Throughout history, the state has emerged as the dominant political unit in the world. There are more than 190 states in the world. A state is a legal entity, not to be confused with

a nation or a country. (More on the next slide)

Each state possesses four characteristics: Population Territory Sovereignty Government

The Nation

According to the Leopold Bloom in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, a nation is, “the same people living in the same place” Nations can have similar ethnicity,

language, religion “territorially bounded groups with a

common heritage.”

Still…not a state.

Population

Each state must have people, or a population.

The size of that population has nothing to do with the existence of the state. Vatican City (the world’s smallest state) is

only .2 square miles (.3 km) and only has 770 citizens.

China has around 1.36 billion citizens.

Territory

A state must also have land, or territory.

States can vary in size. They can be as small as San Marino (24

square miles) Or as big as Russia - 6.6 million square

miles. Or Slovakia – 30,500 sq. miles▪ (49, 000 sq. km)

Sovereignty

Every state is sovereign. This means that it has supreme and absolute

power within its own territory and can decide its own foreign and domestic policies.

A sovereign state is neither subordinate nor responsible to any other authority.

The states within the United States, however, are not sovereign because they are subordinate to the Constitution of the U.S.

Government

Every state must be politically organized. This means that every state must have a government.

A government is the agency through which a state exerts its will and works to accomplish its goals.

Without government, we might face a life described by Thomas Hobbes which that would be “nasty, brutish, and short.”

The Purpose of Government

What does government do?

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

The Purpose of Government

What does government do?

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

The Purpose of Government

What does government do?

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

The Purpose of Government

What does government do?

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

The Purpose of Government

What does government do?

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

The Purpose of Government

What does government do?

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

The Purpose of Government

What does government do?

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

Question 1

Which of the following powers has the power to make laws and frame public policies:

A. Judicial B. Executive C. Legislative

Question 1

Which of the following powers has the power to make laws and frame public policies:

A. Judicial B. Executive C. Legislative

Question 2

Which of the following powers has the power to interpret laws, to determine their meaning, and to settle disputes that arise within society.

A. Executive B. Legislative C. Judicial

Question 2

Which of the following powers has the power to interpret laws, to determine their meaning, and to settle disputes that arise within society.

A. Executive B. Legislative C. Judicial

Question 3

This is a form of government where the leader has absolute power and authority.

A. Democracy B. Dictatorship C. Oligarchy

Question 3

This is a form of government where the leader has absolute power and authority.

A. Democracy B. Dictatorship C. Oligarchy

Question 4

In a _________, supreme authority rests with the people.

A. Anarchy B. Oligarchy C. Democracy

Question 4

In a _________, supreme authority rests with the people.

A. Anarchy B. Oligarchy C. Democracy

Question 5

Which is NOT one of the four characteristics that a state has:

A. Population B. Territory C. Dictatorship

Question 5

Which is NOT one of the four characteristics that a state has:

A. Population B. Territory C. Dictatorship

Question 6

If a state is ______________, supreme and absolute power within its own territory and can decide its own foreign and domestic policies.

A. Representative B. Decisive C. Sovereign

Question 6

If a state is ______________, supreme and absolute power within its own territory and can decide its own foreign and domestic policies.

A. Representative B. Decisive C. Sovereign