1. Different Forms of Government

2. Republic – led by
representatives of
the voters. Each is
individually chosen
for a set period of
time.
United States of America

3. Parliamentary – a
parliamentary
system is led by
representatives of
the people. Each is
chosen as a
member of a
political party and
remains in power as
long as his/her party
does
Great Britain, Israel

4. Monarchy – a
monarchy has a king
or queen, who
sometimes has
absolute power.
Power is passed
along through the
family.
Great Britain, Jordan

5. Theocracy – a form
of government
where the rulers
claim to be ruling
on behalf of a set of
religious ideas, or as
direct agents of a
deity.
Iran

6. Totalitarian – Rule
by a single political
party. Votes for
alternative
candidates and
parties are simply
not allowed.
Citizens are allowed
and ‘encouraged’ to
vote, but only for
the government’s
China chosen candidates.

7. Dictatorship – rule
by a single leader
who has not been
elected and may use
force to keep
control. In a
military
dictatorship, the
army is in control.
Usually, there is
little or no attention
North Korea to public opinion or
individual rights.

8. Oligarchy – a form
of government
which consists of
rule by an elite
group who rule in
their own
interests, especially
the accumulation of
wealth and privilege.
Only certain
members of society
have a valid voice in
the government.
This can reflect
economic
Pakistan interests, a
particular religious
tradition or familial
rule.

9. Where did the colonists get their
ideas from?
 John Locke
◦ He believed that there
were rules in a state
of nature.
◦ He called these rules
natural rights, and
they included
life, liberty and
property.

10.  People have the right
to rebel if their
natural rights are
being taken away
 These rights are
considered essential
– so much a part of
human nature that
they can’t be taken
away

11.  To protect these
rights, people create a
social contract
◦ They consent (give
their permission) to
live in a society where
they obey the limits
placed on them by the
government, in
exchange for knowing
that their rights are
protected

12.  Government gets it’s
right to govern from
the consent of the
people, and without
the consent of the
people, there is no
legitimate
government
◦ Locke argues that if
government fails to
protect these
rights, they have the
right to overthrow the
government

13.  Montesquieu
◦ Advocated a system of
government that divided
and balanced power of
government between the
classes
◦ This is the best way to
ensure that the
government would not be
dominated by a single
social class and could
help the common good

14.  Ancient Greece and
Rome
◦ Promoted the idea of
limiting peoples rights in
order to ensure that
they participate in
society

15.  Magna Carta (1215)
◦ List of complaints
written by the nobles
against King John
◦ Believed to be the
cornerstone of modern
democracy
◦ Government should be
based on the rule of law
(the king’s power is
limited by requiring him
to follow the
law, thereby limiting
government’s power)

16.  Led to American belief
in “no taxation
without
representation”
 Belief in trial by jury of
peers
 Established the idea of
due process of law
◦ No government can take
action against it’s citizens
without following certain
rules and laws

17.  Parliament (1295)
◦ Originally a council of
nobles, but eventually
came to represent all
people in the realm
◦ Divided into two
houses, House of Lords
(nobles, upper
house), and House of
Commons
(citizens, lower house)

18.  Representative
Democracy –
members elected to
speak for the people
 Parliament made
demands of the king in
form of bills
 Colonies modeled
governments after
Parliament
 Congress eventually
modeled after
Parliament

19.  English Bill of
Rights (1689)
◦ Limited the power of
the king by placing
more power in the
hands of the people
◦ Becomes part of the
legal tradition in
America
◦ Right to a fair and
speedy trial by jury
◦ Right to petition

20.  Virginia Assembly
(1619)
◦ Representative body
modeled after
Parliament
 Mayflower
Compact (1620)
◦ Pilgrims organized a
government for the
people and by the
people

21.  Fundamental Orders of
Connecticut
◦ First Constitution in
America
◦ Founded on rights of
people regardless of
religious beliefs
 Massachusetts Town
Meetings
◦ Open to all
◦ Direct Democracy –
people vote directly on
the issues
◦ Only adult, white males
with property could vote

22. Articles of Confederation
 1781-1789 : time called the
“Critical Period”
 After the Revolution, many
people had legitimate fears
about the new government
◦ To most people, their state was
their “country”
◦ Each state functioned like a
separate nation with its own
constitution and government

23.  Founders were afraid of
making a central
government that was too
strong
 Many Americans felt that
any central government was
likely to deprive them of
their rights, just like under
the British crown
 People felt that government
should be close to the
people so the people could
control it easier, and protect
their rights

24. Set up of Articles of Confederation
 The government was
just a central
legislature, unicameral
(one house)
 There was no
executive or judicial
branches
 Most legal disputes
were handled in state
courts

25.  Most of the powers of
government were left
with the states, the
national government
had little power over
the states or its
citizens
 Only state
government had
authority over their
citizens

26.  Congress didn’t have the
power to collect money
from the states or the
people directly, it could
only request the money
from the state
governments, which in turn
would raise it from its
citizens
 Congress couldn’t regulate
trade among the different
states

27. Strengths of the Articles
 Helped get us
through the
Revolutionary War
 Helped us deal with
newly acquired lands
out west (Ohio
Valley) and what to
do with them

28. It helped define states relationship
with one another…
 All states had to accept
the laws of other states
 People could travel from
state to state, not
needing things like
passports
 Set up extradition laws
(laws that would send a
criminal in one state
back to the original
state that he/she
committed a crime in)

29. Weaknesses of the Articles
 2/3 approval needed to
pass a law in Congress
 Unanimous vote
needed to amend
(change) the Articles
 All states, regardless of
size, had one vote
 Legislators in
Congress were paid by
their states, not the
federal government

30.  No executive to
enforce the laws
 No federal court
system
 Congress couldn’t
regulate trade
between the states
 Congress could
declare war, but
couldn’t raise the
army to fight it

31.  Congress could coin
money, but had to
ask the states for the
gold and silver to
back up the currency
 Congress can
tax, but it had no
power to collect
those taxes from the
states

32. What led to the Constitutional
Convention?
 Many political
leaders, like Alexander
Hamilton and James
Madison, didn’t like the
Articles of
Confederation, claiming
that the new government
couldn’t handle the
problems of the United
States

33. Annapolis Convention (1785)
 Delegates from five states
went to Mt.Vernon to
discuss commerce (trade)
problems
 Low turnout at conference
 Hamilton and Madison
suggested that a meeting be
held in Philadelphia to
amend (change) the
Articles to make
government stronger

34. Shay’s Rebellion
 Farmers in
Massachusetts had
serious economic
problems
◦ If they couldn’t pay
their debts, they lost
their homes and their
farms, and were
sometimes sent to
prison

35.  Farmers hit by both high
taxes to pay for
Revolutionary War, and
low prices for their
goods, farmers quickly
became angry with the
state government
 600 farmers, led by
Captain Daniel
Shays, marched on the
Massachusetts courts
and closed them down –
figuring that if the courts
weren’t in session they
couldn’t lose their farms

36.  The farmers then
moved to the military
arsenal in the
state, where the
weapons were kept
 Congress was not able
to raise an army to
put down the
rebellion, and had to
rely on the
Massachusetts militia
to end the rebellion