GOVERNMENT

Types of Governments
Page #: 50
Date: 11/20
EQ: What is government?
What does it do? Why do
we need it?
 GOVERNMENT

1. What is government?
2. What does a government do?
3. Why do people need government?
4. Who has authority or power in a
government? What is power?
5. What types of government
are there?
GOVERNMENT

1.What is
government?
 GOVERNMENT

1. What is government?

• Government is an organization people

set up to protect the community and
make rules
• There is a leader or leaders in charge
• There are rules or laws to follow
 GOVERNMENT

2. What does a
government do?
 GOVERNMENT

2. What does a government do?

 Protects the community
 Makes laws
 Keeps or maintains order/peace
 Collects taxes to take care of
things (roads, public buildings,
postal service, military, schools)
 GOVERNMENT

3. Why do people
need government?
 GOVERNMENT

3. Why do people need government?

 For protection of people and

property
 Making rules- to maintain order
 Enforcing laws- to ensure safety
 To have someone in charge of schools,
roads, military, etc.
 Without it= chaos, disorder, unsafe
 GOVERNMENT

4. Who has authority or

power in a government?
What is power?
 GOVERNMENT

4. Who has authority or power in a

government? What is power?
The leader (king, president, emperor)
The leader’s “people” (assistants,
noblemen, aristocrats…)
The citizens (by voting)
Power is…..
 GOVERNMENT

5. What types of
government
are there?
 GOVERNMENT
5. What types of government
are there?
Common types are:
 Monarchy
Oligarchy
 Tyranny/Dictatorship
 Democracy/Republic
 Theocracy
 Monarchy
 Power is in the hands of a king, queen,
emperor or empress.
 Royal Family The ruling position can be
passed on to the ruler’s children.
 In some traditional monarchies, the monarch
has absolute power (judges, leading army,
making laws)
 But a constitutional monarchy, like the UK,
also has a democratic government that limits
the monarch's control.
 Aristocrats or noblemen (the king’s “people”)
can help make decisions if he wants them to.
Oligarchy
Tyranny/Dictatorship
 Theocracy

 A form of government in which God (or the gods)

is the supreme ruler
 The leader is thought to serve through his “divine
right” and represent God on Earth
 The laws often come from the Holy Books/texts
that the religion of the culture follows
 Examples:
 The Pope in the Vatican City/Roman Catholic Church
 Saudi Arabia is an Islamic Theocracy
 Democracy

 In a democracy, the government is

elected by the people. Everyone who is
eligible to vote has a chance to have their
say over who runs the country. It is
different from governments controlled by a
particular social class or group

 A democracy is determined either directly

or through elected representatives.
 Direct Democracy

 People vote directly on every issue

 Only practical in a small community
 This was the type of Democracy Athens
started
 Representative Democracy

 People are represented by elected officials

 They vote for the person they think has
similar opinions or views as themselves.
 Used in large countries (Like the USA)
 Citizens have power and choices
 VERY similar to a Republic government
 Republic

A republic is a country with

elected representatives and an
elected head of state who is not a
monarch.

The head of the country is

usually an elected president.
Citizens can vote and have
power. This is very similar to a
Representative Democracy
 Rome’s Republic
 Roman citizens were
divided into 3 classes:
Patricians, Plebeians,
and Slaves

 The plebeians were the

lower class & the patricians were
the wealthy upper class.
The Plebeians (poor) started a war to demand their rights!
We will talk more about this when we study Rome.
Other Governments

 There are many other types of governments that

we will not study this year. Some common ones
we will not cover are:
 Theocracy- priests rule in the name of God who
is the ultimate authority, religious law
 Anarchy- NO government, disorder, usually after
a government fails before another one begins
 Communism- the state or country owns and
operates everything on behalf of the people.
People have no control.
 1. NAME THAT GOVERNMENT:

The pharaoh was an absolute ruler. He commanded the

army and controlled irrigation and grain supplies. People in
this society considered the pharaoh to be a god.
 1. NAME THAT GOVERNMENT:

The pharaoh was an absolute ruler. He commanded the

army and controlled irrigation and grain supplies. People in
this society considered the pharaoh to be a god.

Monarchy
 2. NAME THAT GOVERNMENT

 In the first century AD, the Greeks recognized

three types of government: monarchy,
aristocracy, and anarchy. The Jews at the time
did not fit into any of these categories as they
believed only God and his laws were sovereign.
 2. NAME THAT GOVERNMENT

 In the first century AD, the Greeks recognized

three types of government: monarchy,
aristocracy, and anarchy. The Jews at the time
did not fit into any of these categories as they
believed only God and his laws were sovereign.

Theocracy
3. NAME THAT GOVERNMENT:

In 450 B.C. this civilization assembled and all citizens voted

on laws. A council of 500 prepared business for the
assembly.
3. NAME THAT GOVERNMENT:

In 450 B.C. this civilization assembled and all citizens voted

on laws. A council of 500 prepared business for the
assembly.

Direct
Democracy
 4. NAME THAT GOVERNMENT:

The Nazi Party took over every aspect of this country’s social,
economic & political life. Hitler quickly secured his power by
burning down a legislative building and used the incident to
obtain emergency powers, becoming an absolute ruler.
 4. NAME THAT GOVERNMENT:

The Nazi Party took over every aspect of this country’s social,
economic & political life. Hitler quickly secured his power by
burning down a legislative building and used the incident to
obtain emergency powers, becoming an absolute ruler.

Dictatorship
5. NAME THAT GOVERNMENT:

In this country some people are elected to make laws and

some people are appointed officials.
5. NAME THAT GOVERNMENT:

In this country some people are elected to make laws and

some people are appointed officials.

Representative
Democracy