Chapter 1.1 Principles of Government

Question 1

Define government

Answer 1

the institution through which a society makes and enforces public policies

Question 2

Define public policies

Answer 2

all the things a government decides to do

Question 3

Define legislative power

Answer 3

the power to make laws

Question 4

Define executive power

Answer 4

the power to enforce and administer laws

Question 5

Define judicial power

Answer 5

the power to interpret laws

Question 6

Define dictatorship

Answer 6

a government in which all power rests with an individual or small group

Question 7

Define democracy

Answer 7

a government in which supreme authority rests with the people

Question 8

Define a state

Answer 8

a body of people, living in a defined territory, with a government that can make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority

Question 9

Define sovereign

Answer 9

to have supreme and absolute power within a territory

Question 10

Define divine right

Answer 10

the theory that governments gain their authority from the will of God

Question 11

What is government and what is its purpose?

Answer 11

Question 12

What are the 2 Basic Types of Governments?

Answer 12

Question 13

The State

Describe the purpose of states in government

Answer 13

Question 14

Every state has a _______, whether large or small, diverse or homogeneous.A state must have _______, land with known and recognized boundaries

Answer 14

Question 15

Every state has ________, the absolute power within its own territory to decide domestic and foreign policies. Each state has a _______, a political organization to make and enforce its policies.

Answer 15

Question 16

Origins of the State

Many theories have been developed to explain the origins of the state.Name the four theories.

Answer 16

Question 17

Describe the force theory

Answer 17

Question 18

Describe the evolutionary theory

Answer 18

Question 19

Describe the divine right theory

Answer 19

Question 20

Describe the social contract theory

Answer 20

Question 21

What are basic purposes of America’s government?

Answer 21

• It forms “a more perfect Union” by uniting the state governments and the American people.
• It establishes justice by attempting to create and administer laws in a fair, reasonable, and impartial fashion.
• Government offers domestic tranquility, or peace at home, by providing law and order.
• Government provides for the nation’s defense by maintaining armed forces and safe-guarding national security.
• The U.S. government promotes the general welfare of citizens by providing services, such as public education, that benefit all or most people.
• The government helps secure the blessings of liberty by guaranteeing many individual rights and liberties.(These freedoms are not absolute—you are not free to violate the liberties of others.)

Each generation must strive for patriotism by learning and protecting these freedoms.