Principles of Government

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Principles of Government

• States
• Origins of the State
• Purpose of Government

2
Objectives

• 12.1.1 Be able to explain the fundamental
  principles and moral values of American democracy
  as expressed in the U.S. Constitution and other
  essential documents of American democracy.
• Analyze influence of ancient Greek, Roman,
  English, and leading European political thinkers
  (Locke, Hobbes, Aristotle, etc.)
• 12.9 Students analyze the origins,
  characteristics, and development of different
  political systems across time, with emphasis on
  the quest for political democracy, its advances,
  and its obstacles.

3
Overview

• Principles of Government
• What is a State?
• What are the theories of the origin of the
  State/government?
• What is the purpose of government?

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What is State?

• State comes from Latin meaning to stand, today
  it means a political community that occupies a
  definite territory with an organized government
• Nation any sizeable group of people who are
  united by common bonds of race, language, custom,
  tradition, and sometimes religion
• Aristotle ancient Greek scholar known for ideas
  of politics, democracy, and republic

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Essential Features of a State

• Population
• An area with fixed boundaries
• Sovereignty, or absolute authority, within its
  territorial boundaries
• A government that maintains order, provides
  public services, and enforces decisions that its
  people must obey

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Origins of state

• The State evolved from the family group
• One person or a group used force to establish its
  authority to govern the people
• The rulers of the people were chosen by gods to
  govern - divine right
• The people gave the government its power to rule
  them, and in return the government had to respect
  the peoples rights
• - social contract

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• Evolutionary theory- the state evolved from the
  family, the head of the primitive family was the
  authority that served as the government.
  Gradually the large extended family needed more
  organization
• Force theory says that government emerged when
  all the people of an area were brought under the
  authority of one person or group. The state was
  born of force
• Divine Right Theory is the notion that god or
  gods have chosen certain people to lead
• Social Contract Theory says government was given
  its power by the people to govern

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Social Contract Theory

• Thomas Hobbes wrote in a state of nature no
  government existed. Without an authority to
  protect people from one another life was nasty,
  brutish and short the social contract people
  surrendered to the state the power needed to
  maintain order and protect the citizens

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Social Contract Theory

• John Lockes social contract theory
• that people were naturally endowed with the right
  to life, liberty, and property.
• To preserve these rights the people willingly
  contract a government to do so
• however, if the government fails to protect
  these rights the people have a right to break the
  contract.

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Purpose of Government

• maintain social order -police, courts
• provide public services -highways,
  firefighters
• provide for a national security and a common
  defense -army, navy
• provide for and control the economic system
• - banks and money
• Government has the authority to require all
  individuals to obey decisions and punish those
  that do not -courts, laws, punishment for
  disobeying