WHAT ISGOVERNMENT?

10th American CivilizationCouncil Rock School District

GOVERNMENT

GOVERNMENT: Institutions and officials organized to establish &

carry out public policy

DO YOU BELIEVE GOVERNMENT IS

NECESSARY?

WHY OR WHY NOT?

PROS AND CONS TO GOVERNMENT

PROS CONS

Organize Society Get caught up in minute details

Promotes Unity Can create political divisions

Effectively solve problems Can get distracted and lose focus

Efficiently progress Can be corrupted

EARLY GOVERNMENTS

GOVERNMENTS TODAY

Roughly 5 major government styles:

1. MONARCHY: rule by one hereditary leader; not very common

no struggles for power

leader may not have to prove any qualifications King Abdullah

Saudi Arabia

GOVERNMENTS TODAY

2. DICTATORSHIP: Rule by one powerful leader who seizes and

holds power by force

Power is centralized, making it easy to maintain peace and order

Power is easily abused; citizens are often denied basic rights

Kim Jong UnNorth Korea

GOVERNMENTS TODAY3. THEOCRACY: Rule by a few religious leaders

Encourages political and social unity and similar moralbeliefs (so long as everyone supports the same religion)

Religious persecution; warfare

Pope Francis IVatican City

AyatollahAhmad Khatami

Iran

GOVERNMENTS TODAY

4. PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY: Rule by a legislative majority – voters elect law makers to represent them in a parliament and the parliament selects a prime minister

Easier to get laws passed

Prime Minister may lack public support David Cameron

Prime Minister:United Kingdom

GOVERNMENTS TODAY

5. PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRACY: Rule by representatives of the people: voters elect a president in the executive branch as well as lawmakers in the legislative branch.

Provides a system of checks and balances to ensure no government branch becomes too powerful

It is almost impossible to remove a president no matter how unpopular

Barack ObamaPresident:

United States

PICTIONARY!Now that you’ve learned about the 5 types of

government:

1) Use the handout to sketch a picture that represents each government.

2) Cut out each square3) Write the government type and a short definition on the backs of each card4) Test a nearby classmate with the new flashcards you created!