The US Constitution and World Governments

SWBAT: Define government powers and the basic powers every government holds.

Understand the purpose of government in the US and other countries.

STANDARD: 12.1 Students explain the fundamental principles and moral values of American democracy as expressed in the U.S. Constitution and

other essential documents of American democracy.

Miss VareeUS Government

Fall 2010

LOST Episode 1 Clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mdZeJsuHns

Question to Consider:What would happen if a country had no government? What can the government do to assist people affected by the situation?

Warm-Up

Think back to middle school. What would your lives be like if you were free to do whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted-without the consent of your parents?

What are some things you would do? List 3 adjectives that describe the US

Government.

Government: A Formal Definition

The institution through which society makes and enforces public policies.

Made of up people who exercise power and have the power to control others

Public Policy

Everything a government decides to do

Examples: taxation, defense, transportation, environment, labor laws, education, crime, health care, etc

Purpose of Government: Preamble

Form A More Perfect Union Establish Justice Insure Domestic Tranquility Provide for the Common Defense Promote the General Welfare Secure the Blessings of Liberty

Grab your textbook and define:

Democracy (Page 5) Legislative Power (Page 4) Parliament (Page 16) State (Page 5) Sovereign (Page 6) Majority Party: A political party that

holds the most number of seats in the legislature (or Congress)

Let’s explore the Different FORMS OF GOVERNMENT:

Assignment Skim Pages 12-17 in your textbook.

Individually read the forms of government quietly and write 3-4 bullets points describing each – what does it look like, who holds the power, which countries have this type of government?

Exchange answers with your partner.

Be prepared to share a short explanation to share with the class.

Forms of Government – Notes(Tree Map)

Unitary Socialism CommunismAbsolute Monarchy

DictatorshipDemocraticParliamentaryPresidentialConfederateFederal

Direct Indirect/Representative

Forms of Government

Time to Review Main Ideas & Notes

As I am going through the slides, fill in the information on tree map to ensure you wrote down the main points!

GEOGRAPHIC

UnitaryFederalConfederate

Unitary Government

Centralized Government There are local sources of government

(i.e. school districts) but mainly for its own convenience

Most governments in the world are unitary in form

This is not a dictatorship: there are local representatives The powers of government are limited

Federal Government The powers of government are divided

between a central government and several local governments – Ex: US… National Government has certain powers

(abortion) 50 States have others (gay marriage)

Confederate

An alliance of independent states Only has the power to handle matters

the member states have assigned to it Historically, they only have limited

power There is only one confederation in the

world – The Commonwealth of Independent States

Relationship Between Legislative & Executive Branches

PresidentialParliamentaryDemocracy

Presidential

Features a separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches

The two branches are coequal Examples: US

Parliamentary Executive is made up of the prime minister who

is a member of the legislative branch, the parliament

The prime minister is the leader of the majority party and is chosen by that body

The prime minister’s cabinet is chosen from the legislature

The prime minister is thus chosen by the legislature, part of it, and subject to its control

DEMOCRACY

Form of government where the ultimate power of rule lies within the hands of

the citizens The people hold the sovereign power Example: the citizens elect their

leaders, vote on laws, etc.

Types of democracies

Direct

Citizens vote directly on all decisions that concern them like law, taxes, etc.

Indirect/Representative

Democracy

Citizens elect officials to make on laws, taxes, etc.

Also called a Republic

AUTOCRACY

DictatorshipAbsolute Monarchy

A government run by or controlled by one person or a small

group that has unlimited power

DICTATORSHIP

Where one person, the dictator, or a small group of people take the government by force and maintain power through the threat of force

ABSOLUTE MONARCHY

Where the ruler is a monarch, a king or queen, who rules by “divine right”, or through the will of God—God has chosen them to be leader

SOCIALISM An economic & political system in

which large industries (housing, healthcare, education) are owned by the government and citizens pay high taxes to pay for such industries, but don’t pay out of pocket to attain the services.

COMMUNISM

A political system in which the government controls the production of all industries (i.e. food, housing, healthcare, goods) and there is no means to own private property.

Quiz

Explain the difference between the following: Indirect Democracy v. Direct Democracy Dictatorship v. Monarchy Communism v. Socialism

Wrap-Up: Debrief – Write ½ pg.

Rank the different forms of government from best to worst (1 – 10) and explain why you formed your choices the way you did.

Choose which government would you most want to live under, and which one you would least like to live under.