Forms of Government

1. Chapter 3 Forms of Government

2. Types of Government

3. Types of Government Three ways to classify governments: 1. Systems of government 2. Relationship between levels of government 3. Methods of selecting the executive

4. Systems of Government • Popular government • Democracy • Direct Democracy • Indirect Democracy • Republic • Dictatorship • Anarchy

5. Popular Governments • The people participate. • Direct democracy – people directly affect government’s policies & actions • Very rare today • “Today direct democracy is rare because of geographic and population limitations.” • Agree or disagree?

6. Popular Governments • Indirect democracy – people choose their peers to operate government on their behalf (or REPRESENT them). • Republic – “a state in which the supreme power rests in the people and their elected representatives or officers.

7. Dictatorship • In a dictatorship, the government acts without the consent of the people. • Totalitarianism- a ruling class holds absolute power and seeks to exercise control over every aspect of people’s lives. • Autocracy – rule by 1 person with supreme authority • Oligarchy – rule by an elite group

8. Anarchy • An absence of government • Because of human depravity, typically anarchy, instead of leading to maximum liberty, leads to a state of lawlessness. • Jeremiah 17:9 • The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

9. Types of Government Three ways to classify governments: 1. Systems of government 2. Relationship between levels of government

10. Relationship Between Levels of Government • 1. Unitary • 2. Federal • 3. Confederate

11. Relationship Between Levels of Government • Unitary Governments • Power resides in central government • All power from the people (unlike dictatorship) • Local units may help administer government. • Examples: Great Britain, Japan, France, Israel

12. Relationship Between Levels of Government • Federal Governments – Federalism • Power is divided among national, regional, and local governments. • Usually governed by a constitution which specifies the powers and responsibilities of each level. • Examples: United States, Brazil, India

13. Relationship Between Levels of Government • Confederate Governments • Regional governments retain supremacy and delegate some tasks to the national government. • Examples: Articles of Confederation, Confederate States of America, European Union (EU)

14. Types of Government Three ways to classify governments: 1. Systems of government 2. Relationship between levels of government 3. Methods of selecting the executive

15. Methods of Selecting the Executive • Presidential System – people directly elect the president. • Question: Do the people directly elect the President of the United States? • Answer: No. The Electoral College elects the president.

16. Methods of Selecting the Executive • Parliamentary System • People elect their representatives to Parliament. • Candidate of the party with the most votes in each district wins. • The majority party in the parliament chooses the executive (prime minister). • Examples: Great Britain, France, Japan, Indonesia

17. Which system is better: Presidential or Parliamentary? • p. 37

18. Types of Government by System List and explain.

19. American Government

20. Levels of American Government • National • State • Local

21. National Government • The U.S. Constitution LIMITS the power of the national government by allowing it to have certain DELEGATED POWERS.

22. National Government • Legislative Branch • Executive Branch • Judicial Branch

23. Legislative Branch • Makes the laws • Closest ties to the people: directly elected • Two houses • House of Representatives • Senate

24. Executive Branch • Enforces the laws • President • Vice President • Advisors • EOP • Cabinet

25. Judicial Branch • Interprets the laws • Are the laws passed by Congress and the states consistent with the Constitution? • Supreme Court • Lower Courts

26. State Government • Fifty (50) states • States keep all power not delegated to the national government (RESERVED POWERS) or prohibited to the states by the Constitution (PROHIBITED POWERS). • States all have their own constitutions.

27. State Government • Reserved Powers– 10th Amendment • Police, educate, land-use laws, licensing, etc. • Prohibited Powers – Keeps certain powers in the hands of the national government. • Coin money, make treaties, import/export taxes, raise a military force in peacetime, etc.

28. State Government • Separation of Powers – State governments have the same 3 branches as the national (federal) government. • Legislative, Executive, Judicial

29. State Government • Legislative • May be BICAMERAL (two houses) or UNICAMERAL (one house).

30. State Government • Executive – Governor • Lieutenant governor

31. State Government • Judicial – courts • May be elected by the people or APPOINTED by the governor or legislature

32. Local Government • Counties – divided into precincts • Municipalities – cities, villages, towns • Municipalities exist by incorporating when its population gets to a certain level. • Municipalities get a charter (like a constitution) from the state.

33. Review Quiz • What are the levels of U.S. government? • What are the branches of U.S. government? • What is the function of the legislative branch? • What is the function of the executive branch? • What is the function of the judicial branch?

34. Answers • 1. national, state, local • 2. legislative, executive, judicial • 3. make laws • 4. enforce the laws • 5. interpret the laws