Magruder's U.S. Government -- Chapter 1 Section 2 "Forms of Government"

1. U.S. Government
Chapter 1 – Section 2

2.  Autocracy
 Oligarchy
 Unitary government
 Federal government
 Division of powers
 Confederation
 Presidential
government
 Parliamentary
government

3.  Section Objectives:
 Classify governments according to three sets of
characteristics
 Define systems of government based on who can
participate
 Identify different ways that power can be distributed within
a state
 Describe a government by how power is distributed
between the executive branch and legislative branch.
 4.4 Understand the basic features of major forms
of governance in the world.

4. The White House
Washington D.C.

5. The White House
Washington D.C.

6.  Political scientists have developed three ways
to classify governments.
 1) Who can participate
 2) Geographic distribution
 3) Relationship between the legislative and
executive branches

7.  There are two basic forms of government
based on who can participate.
 Democracy
 Dictatorship

8.  Supreme political authority rests with the people
 Govt. can only operate by and with the consent of the
people.
 “a government of the people, by the people, for the
people.” –A. Lincoln
 Direct democracy - every issue must be voted on
by the people.
 This is the reason that direct democracies usually are
only found in small communities.
 No direct democracies exist on a national level

9.  Indirect democracy - the people choose
representatives to express the popular will.
 also called a representative democracy
 Some say that the United States is a republic.
 That means that the people have the sovereign power
while the representatives have political power.
 Regardless of what term you use to describe a
democracy, in a democracy the people rule

10.  In a dictatorship, those who rule are not
responsible to the people
 Probably the oldest form of government.
 Also the most common form of government known to
history.
 Autocracy - a dictatorship where one person
rules and has unlimited power.
 An oligarchy - a dictatorship were power is help
by a small group of usually self-appointed elite.

11.  All dictatorships are authoritarian. This
means that those in power have absolute
power over the people.
 Typically, dictatorial regimes are usually
militaristic in nature and gain power by force.

12.  Adolph Hitler

13.  Joseph Stalin

14.  Mao Zedong

17.  Kim Jong Un

18.  Bashar al-Assad

19.  Ayatolla Ali Khamanei

20.  General Aladeen

21.  How would you explain a dictator who adopt
some of the features of a democratic
government?
 For example: popular elections and elected
legislative bodies

22.  From this standpoint, three basic forms of
government exist:
 Unitary
 Federal
 Confederate

23.  Often described as a centralized government.
 All powers held by the government belong to a single
agency.
 Most governments in the world today are
unitary in form.
 A classic illustration is Great Britain.
 In Britain, a single central organization (Parliament)
holds all of the government’s power.
 Britain’s government is both democratic and unitary

25.  Power is divided between a central government
and several local governments.
 Power is said to be divided into a central government
and other local governments.
 (U.S. Governments and State Governments)
 Under a federal government, all levels of
government act directly on the people.
 Examples of a federal governments include:
United States, Australia, Mexico, Switzerland,
Germany, India

26.  A confederation is an alliance of independent
states.
 Makes it possible for several states to cooperate in
matters of common concern and, at the same time,
retain their separate identities
 Has the power to handle only those matters that
have been assigned to it by the member states.
 Confederations are rare today. The closest
example today is the European Union.

27.  A) How is power distributed in a federal
government?
 B) Explain the main differences between a
federal government and a confederate state.

28.  Under this grouping, there are two types of
governments. Those are:
 Presidential Government
 Parliamentary Government

29.  Features a separation of powers between the
executive and legislative branches of government.
 The two branches are independent of each other.
 In a presidential government, the executive (the
President) is chosen independently of the legislature
(Congress).
 Each branch (executive and legislative) will have powers to
block the other branch.
 The United States invented the presidential form of
government.

31.  In a parliamentary form of government, the
executive (Prime Minister and cabinet) is
actually a member of the legislative branch
(Parliament).
 The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority part
of the Parliament.
 The executive is chosen by the legislature, and is
subject to its control.
 The Prime Minister and cabinet (the executive
branch) only stay in power as long as they have
the support from the majority of Parliament.

33.  What is the relationship between the
executive and legislative branches in a
presidential government?

34.  A _________________is a government in which
a single person holds unlimited political power.
 A. Dictatorship
 B. Aristocracy
 C. Oligarchy

35.  In a __________ government, powers of gov’t
are divided between a central gov’t and several
local gov’ts.
 A. Representative
 B. Federal
 C. Legislative

36.  An alliance of independent states.
 A. Group
 B. Team
 C. Confederation

37.  Features a separation of powers between the
executive and legislative branches.
 A. Parliamentary
 B. Oligarchy
 C. Presidential

38.  Executive Branch is made up of the Prime
Minister and the officials cabinet.
 A. Presidential
 B. Parliamentary
 C. Aristocracy

39.  A unitary government can be either a
democracy or a dictatorship.
 A. True
 B. False