BTHS Rickey Mei

Government 9/27/04

Lesson 2

1) Dictatorship- those who are in power hold absolute and unchallengeable authority
over the people.
2) Democracy- Supreme political authority rests with the people. The people hold
the sovereign power, and government is conducted only by and with the consent
of the people.
3) Monarchy- a government having a hereditary chief of state with life tenure and
powers varying from nominal to absolute.
4) Autocracy- A government in which a single person holds unlimited political
power.
5) Oligarchy- A government in which the power to rule is held by a small, usually
self-appointed elite.
6) Indirect democracy- A representative democracy. Small group of people, chosen
by the people to act as their representatives expresses the popular will.
7) Republic- The sovereign power is held by those eligible to vote, while the
political power is exercised by representatives chosen by and held responsible to
those citizens.
8) Direct Democracy- Also called a pure democracy, exists where the will of the
people is translated into public policy directly by the people themselves, in mass
meetings.
9) Parliamentary government- the executive is made up of the prime minister or
premier, and that official’s cabinet.
10) Presidential government- the executive and legislative branches of the
government are separate, independent of one another, and coequal. The president
is chosen independently of the legislature, holds office for a fixed term, and has
broad powers not subject to the direct control of the legislative branch.
11) Unitary government- often described as a centralized government. All powers
held by the government belong to a single, central agency.
12) Federal government- One in which the powers of government are divided
between a central government and several local governments.
13) Confederation- Alliance of independent states.
Force- One person or a small group claimed control over an area and force all within it to
submit to that persons or groups rule. This basically means that a person or a group
dominated an area and forced the people to serve them.
Evolution- It started with a primitive family where one family member was head. As the
family grew, this person became the leader of the clan and eventually a tribe.
Divine Right- This is the belief that God created the state and that God had given those of
royal birth a “divine right” to rule.
Social Contract- The belief that everyone was born free but in order to protect their lives
and property, they had to draw up a contract to form a government which will protect
them.
How does the theory of origin of government influence the form of government? The
force, evolution, and divine right theories all point to one form of government. A
monarchy. During the medieval times, people used force to conquer one another and this
form of government was a monarchy. Divine right is when a person of royal birth has
been given the right to rule by God. This is also a monarchy. In the evolution theory, the
person in charge is similar to a monarch. Social contract points to a democracy. Everyone
has a say in their government and majority rules.