Ms. Valentine's Notes

Unit 1                   

Principles of Government

Definitions

ØGovernment – an institution through which a society makes and enforces public policy.

ØState – a political community that occupies a definite territory and has an organized government with the power to make and enforce laws without approval from a higher authority.

l Nation – an independent state or country consisting of any sizable group of people united by common bonds of race, language, custom, tradition, and, sometimes, religion.

Essential features of a state

•Population - people

•Territory – area with fixed recognized boundaries.

•Sovereignty – supreme and absolute authority within its boundaries.

•Government – the institution through which the state maintains order, provides public services, and enforces decisions that are binding on all people living within the state.

Theories on the Origin of Government

Evolutionary Theory

u The state/ government evolved from the family unit

Force Theory

•The strongest person or group rules

Divine Right Theory

§Rulers were chosen by God or the gods, usually those of royal birth.

Social Contract Theory

•This is the basis for American political theory.  It was developed by John Locke, Thomas Hobbs, John Jacques Rousseau, and James Harrington.  Hobbs wrote that the earliest people existed in a “state of nature” where the strong prevail and the weak were destroyed.  This situation continued until people voluntarily gave up some of their power to the government, in this contract a.k.a. a constitution, the government agreed to make policies for the good of all.

Purposes of Government

lMaintain social order

l Provide essential services

lProtect the people

l Control the nations economy

Government Systems

l Unitary System – all key powers are given to the national or central government

l Federal System – government powers are divided between the national government and state or provincial governments.

Constitution – written or unwritten plan that provides the rules for the government.

n U.S. has the oldest written constitution still serving a nation today.

n Great Britain has an unwritten constitution based upon hundreds of years of legislation, court decisions and customs.

Constitutional/Limited Government

l A government in which a constitution has authority to place clear recognized limits on the powers of those who govern.

Purposes of a Constitution

n Set out ideals that the people believe in and share

n Establish the basic structure of the government and define it’s powers and duties

n Provide the supreme law of the land

The Preamble

n We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure 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.

Structure, powers and duties are outlined in Articles 1 – 7.

As the highest law it draws its authority from the people or special assemblies chosen by the people to create  it.

Politics

n Simply put is the effort to control or influence the policies and actions of government.

n How do you get involved in politics?

Test Bonus

l Memorize the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution.

l You will be asked to write it out without the use of any aides.

l It is worth a possible 20 points on your first test!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!