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CHAPTER 1 PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT

CHAPTER 1 PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT. CH. 1 GOVERNMENT AND THE STATE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. WHAT IS GOVERNMENT?. GOVERNMENT—institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies PUBLIC POLICIES—all those things a government decides to do

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CHAPTER 1 PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT

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  1. CHAPTER 1 PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT CH. 1 GOVERNMENT AND THE STATE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

  2. WHAT IS GOVERNMENT? • GOVERNMENT—institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies • PUBLIC POLICIES—all those things a government decides to do • Governments must have power to make and carry out public policy • Three Basic kinds of power: • 1) legislative power—power to make laws and frame public policies • 2) executive power—power to execute, enforce, and administer laws • 3) judicial power—power to interpret laws, determine the meaning of laws, settle disputes

  3. CONSTITUTION—body of fundamental laws setting out principles, structures, and processes of a government • DICTATORSHIP—power held by a single person • DEMOCRACY—power held by a majority of the people • Earliest forms of government date from 6th Century B.C. Egypt • 2,300 years ago—Greek philosopher Aristotle observed that “man is by nature a political animal” • POLITICS—process is the process by which a society decides how power and resources will be distributed • Government is an institution, while politics is a process.

  4. THE STATE • What is the STATE? • --a body of people • --living in a defined territory • --organized politically (that is, with a government) • --the power to make and enforce laws without the consent of any higher authority • More than 190 states in the world today • States vary greatly in size, military power, natural resources, and economic importance

  5. Each state possesses four characteristics: • 1) population • 2) territory • 3) sovereignty • 4) government • STATE—legal entity, NATION—ethnic term, COUNTRY—geographic term • POPULATION • Size of population has nothing to do with the existence of a state • Smallest—San Marino 30,000 vs. Largest—China 1.3 billion

  6. TERRITORY • State must have land with known and recognized boundaries • Smallest—San Marino 24 sq. miles vs. largest—Russia 6.6 million sq. miles • SOVEREIGNTY • SOVEREIGN—supreme and absolute within its borders • States can determine their own government

  7. GOVERNMENT • Government is necessary to avoid what English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) called “the war of every man against every man.” • Without government there would be “continual fear and danger of violent death and life…”—Hobbes • Number of examples where government have disappeared—Lebanon, Bosnia, Somalia, etc.—life became “nasty, brutish, and short.”

  8. MAJOR POLITICAL IDEAS • THE FORCE THEORY—state was born of force • One person or a small group claimed control over an area and forced all within it to submit to that person’s or group’s rule. • THE EVOLUTIONARY THEORY—state developed naturally out of the early family • Primitive family—one person was the leader • Family  network of families (clan)  tribe • Tribe turned to agriculture and gave up being a nomad—the state was born

  9. THE DIVINE RIGHT THEORY—God created the state and that God had given those of royal birth a “divine right” to rule. • People were bound to obey their ruler like they would obey God • Opposition to “divine right” was both treason and mortal sin • THE SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY—the state arose out of a voluntary act of free people • People within a given area agreed to give up to the state as much power as was needed to promote the safety and well-being of all • Members of the state create a government to exercise the powers they had voluntarily given to the state.

  10. State exists only to serve the will of the people • The Declaration of Independence justified its revolution through the social contract theory.

  11. THE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT • Preamble to the Constitution defines the purpose of the system of government • FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION • Create a better form of government to improve upon the Articles of Confederation • The belief is that in union there is strength • ESTABLISH JUSTICE • The law, in both its content and its administration, must be reasonable, fair, and impartial • “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”--MLK

  12. INSURE DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY • Prevent ANARCHY—without government, law, order • Ex.—Somalia—located in the eastern tip of Africa, has not had a functioning government for many years; rival warlords control different parts of the country • PROVIDE FOR THE COMMON DEFENSE • Defend the nation against foreign enemies • The security of the USA is the most important item in the Constitution

  13. PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE • Government serves its citizens • Servants of the citizens—public schools, air quality, water quality, etc. • SECURE THE BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY • Nation founded by those who loved liberty and prized it above all earthly possessions • Both the federal and state constitutions set out many guarantees of rights and liberty for the individual • THE END

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