Review for the exam
Helpful informationCharts and Graphs
Structure of United States Government
Democracy
Democracy
• Word comes from two Greek words – Demos (people) and Kratos (authority of the people) Supreme political authority rests with the peopleGovernment is only conducted w/ people’s consent
Democracy
Basic Concepts of Democracy(What is necessary for the establishment and maintenance of a
Democracy?)
1. Individual Liberty (Effective Participation) Citizens must be as free as possible to develop and
express their preferences through the decision-making process
Democracy2. Majority Rule with Minority Rights
• Govt. decisions must be based on the will of the majority (over half the voters)
• Will of minority always heard and protected
• Interest groups protect minority rights and promote minority opinion
3. Free Elections• People have chance to choose their leaders and voice opinions on
issues• Every vote carries same weight• Citizens free to support issue or help candidates get elected• Racial, ethnic, religious tests cannot restrict voting• Citizens vote by secret ballot w/out fear of punishment for their vote
Democracy
4. Competing Political Parties• Voters must have access to competing ideas• Democrats and Republicans (2 major U.S. parties)
5. Education• Voting makes little sense unless a large number of voters can read and
write to express their interests and opinions
Democracy
6. Equal Distribution of Wealth• Relatively prosperous nation with equitable distribution of
wealth• Extreme amount of wealth or poverty lessens possibility of
healthy democracy
Democracy
7. Inclusion• Citizenship open to all if Democratic
Types of Governments
Government
Government Types1. Autocracy
Absolute Monarchy, Constitutional Monarchy, Dictatorship
Unitary System Queen, King, Dictator, King or Queen w/leg.body AM: Saudi Arabia, Qutar, Bhutan, Swaziland CM: England, Netherlands, Denmark, Nepal, Sweden Dict: Cuba, North Korea
Government
Constitutional Monarch:• Shares govt. powers with
elected legislatures or serve as ceremonial leaders
Queen Elizabeth II (Great Britain)
Absolute Monarch:• Has complete and unlimited power to rule
King Fahd(Saudi Arabia)
Government
Dictators Govt. not responsible to the people and people lack the power to limit
their rulers
Fidel Castro (Cuba)
Kim Jong(N.Korea)
Government
Government Types2. Oligarchy
Unitary Small group rules Membership based on wealth, lineage, military power,
religion China
Government
Government Types3. Democracy
Federal Direct Democracy – people rule directly
Citizens come together to discuss and pass laws, and select rulers (most turn to mob rule)
Indirect Democracy (Representative) – people rule through elected representatives• Aka republic
DD: Switzerland has mixture of DD and ID ID: U.S., Canada, Australia, Italy
The American concept of democracy rests on these basic notions:
(1) A recognition of the fundamental worth and dignity of every person;
(2) A respect for the equality of all persons;(3) A faith in majority rule and an insistence
upon minority rights;(4) An acceptance of the necessity of
compromise; and(5) An insistence upon the widest possible
degree of individual freedom.
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