Foundations of Government
Basic Powers of Government:
Legislative Power: Power to make laws and to frame public
Executive Power: Power to execute, enforce, and administer laws
Judicial Power: Power to interpret laws, determine their meaning, and to settle disputes that arise within the society
Powers of gov are often outlined in the country’s constitution
Constitution is body of fundamental laws setting out the principles, structures, processes of a gov.
4 Characteristics of a State:
Population: Large or small, every state must be inhabited
Territory: Every state must have land with known and recognized borders
Sovereignty: State has absolute power within its territory, can decide its own foreign and domestic policies
Government: Mechanism through which a state makes and enforces its policies
4 Different Theories:
Force of theory: Forming a state by force
Divine right of kings theory: god created the state, making it sovereign. the gov is made up of those chosen by God to rule a certain territory. the population must obey their rules
Evolutionary theory: population forced out of primitive families. the heads of these families became the government. when these families settled in one territory and claimed it as their own.
Social Contract Theory (More related to America, quiz question): Population is a given territory that gives up as much power to a government as needed to promote the well being of all. in doing so, they created a sovereign state
Democracy:
Supreme political authority rests with the people
People hold the sovereign power
Gov is conducted only by and with consent of the people
Direct and Indirect Democracy:
Direct: People themselves formulate public policy, works at a small local level
Indirect (Representative Democracy, Constitutional Republic): Group of persons chosen by the people formulation public policy, widely used at the national
Theocracy: In a theocracy, religion is the laws for the whole society. most religions have a set of rules or laws, and to enforce these laws, there must be a strong gov that is controlled by religious leaders. might be a king or elected officials, the religious leaders always have the most power in theocracy
Dictatorship: Power is not inherited, but usually taken by force. dictator has absolute power and because his power is not guaranteed like a monarchy, dictators usually use more repression (limiting people’s freedoms and opinions) and need a strong military
Oligarchy: This form of government involves 2 or more people who could control a nation usually by military force, rich/elite families, or religious leaders
Anarchy: This means no gov, any rules are just whatever traditions people in the society have, but there is no one person or group of people who gets to decide what the actual rules are, what is fair, or who should be punished for breaking rules
Geographic Distribution of Power
Unitary Government: Centralized government, all power held by a single, central agency, local units are created for conveniences of central government (Great Britain)
Federal Gov: Powers are divided by the central and several local governments, both levels of government must act directly on the people through laws, policies, etc. (Ex: United States)
Confederate Gov: An alliance of independent states, only handles those matters that member states assign to it (Ex: EU, a common currency that is free to trade among boundaries, Articles of Confederation, Confederate States of America)
Parliamentary Gov:
Prime Minister & Cabinet (chosen from parliament)
Remain in power only as long as the majority in parliament supports them
If PM is defeated, a “vote of no confidence” takes place
Majority of systems today are parliamentary
Prevents deadlock by the president, as head of state, can dissolve the legislature and call for new elections in a crisis
Chief executive drawn from ___
Presidential Gov:
Two branches are separate, independent, and coequal
President has fixed term, elected separately from legislative
Have checks and balances
Voters elect the legislature and the chief executive
John Locke
Heavily influenced the U.S. government through his theories of the social contract, natural rights (life, liberty, property), consent of the governed, etc.
Ideas were foundational to the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution
Thomas Hobbes
Influenced the U.S. government, particularly the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution through his development of social contract theory and the concept of a state of nature
Mary Wollstonecraft
Did not directly influence the U.S. government, but her writings were foundational to the women’s suffrage and equal rights movements in the United States decades after her death
Said women should have equal education and opportunities as men, so they can become rational, virtuous, and independent beings, argued that women were rational duh
Voltaire
Influenced the framers of the U.S. government through his advocacy for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and the separation of church and state
His ideas questioned the authority of monarchs and the Catholic Church, but encouraged a focus on rational inquiry and individual liberties that were central to the American and French Revolutions
Baron de Montesquieu
Influenced the U.S. government through his principle of the separation of powers, which divides governmental authority into legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent concentration of power and protect liberty
Cesare Beccaria
Influenced the U.S. government’s approach to criminal justice by advocating for individual dignity, more proportionality in punishment, and the rejection of torture and capital punishment
These ideas shaped the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights
Quiz Questions Norton hinted lol
What are you aligned of/believe in: What type of government is it?
What is one of the powers?
What are the four characteristics of the state?
What are one of the theories?
What is the difference between direct and indirect democracy?
Power and government types
Difference between presidential and parliamentary government