1. The Democratic Republic
Chapter 1

2. Politics and Government
 What is politics?
 The process of resolving conflicts and deciding “who gets what,
when, and how.”
 The struggle over power and influence within organizations or
informal groups that can grant or withhold benefits or privileges
 Where are politics found?
 Schools, churches, social groups, and any other organized group
of people
 Government is the most important though

3. Politics and Government
 What is the government?
 It is an institution – an ongoing organization that performs certain
functions for society
 An organization has a life separate from the lives of the individuals who
are a part of it
 Overall, the government can be defined as an institution in which
decisions are made that resolve conflicts or allocate benefits and
privileges.
 The government is the preeminent institution in society
 It has the ultimate authority for making decisions and establishing
political values

4. Why is Government Necessary?
 The Need for Security
 A primary purpose of government is to maintain order
 A state of peace and security
 Protects its people from violence domestically or internationally
 Dispenses justice
 If order is not present, the government cannot provide other
benefits

5. Why is Government Necessary?
 Limiting Government Power
 Protection from the violence of those outside the government is
not enough
 Citizens need protection from abuses of power by the
government
 Dictatorial governments often torture and execute political opponents
 Restriction of free speech, habeas corpus, and the right to an impartial
trial
 To protect the liberties of the people, it is necessary to limit the
powers of the government

6. Why is Government Necessary?
 Limiting Government Power
 Liberty – the greatest freedom of the individual consistent with
the freedom of other individuals within a society
 A second major political value
 Summary
 Major political values
 Order
 Liberty

7. Why is Government Necessary?
 Authority and Legitimacy
 Authority – the right and power to enforce its decisions
 Every government must have authority.
 Authority in government rests on the military and civilian law
enforcement
 Why do we defer authority to the government and its laws?
 Legitimacy – Popular acceptance of the right and power of a
government (or other entity) to exercise authority

8. Democracy and Other Forms of
Government
 Types of Government Historically
 The Greeks were the first Western people to study politics
systematically
 Forms of governmental rule known to the Greeks
 Aristocracy –”rule by the best”; rule by leading members of wealthy families
 Historic: Republic of Rome
 Contemporary: term evolved into monarchies
 Theocracy – “rule by God”; rule by self-appointed religious leaders
 Historic: Ancient Egypt; Puritans in the Mass. Bay Colony
 Contemporary: Iran (the grand ayatollah Ali Khamenei)
 Oligarchy – “rule by a few”
 Historic: Sparta
 Contemporary: South Africa, (“The Party” in George Orwell’s 1984)

9. Democracy and Other Forms of
Government
 Types of Government
 Totalitarian Regime – a small group of leaders or a single
individual (dictator) makes all political decisions for the society
 Every aspect of political, social, and economic life are controlled by the
government.
 Authoritarianism – Similar to totalitarian regimes, but only the
government is fully controlled by the ruler
 Social and economic institutions exist that are not under the
government’s control

10. Democracy and Other Forms of
Government
 Types of Government
 Anarchy – Greek for “the absence of government”
 Advocates see a world in which free will and pure individualism create
the rules and laws
 In reality, anarchy typically results in armed factions competing for
influence and authority
 Democracy – a system of government in which political authority
is vested in the people
 Greek: demos “the people” and kratos “authority”

11. Democracy and Other Forms of
Government
 Direct Democracy as a Model
 Direct Democracy – a system of government in which political
decisions are made by the people directly, rather than by elected
representatives
 Would probably work easiest in small political communities
 The Greek city-state of Athens is considered the purest model of
direct democracy
 Most important feature was the legislature – a governmental body
primarily responsible for law making
 This form of government requires a high level of participation
from every citizen
 As a result, citizens had to be informed and educated on the issues in
order to make wise decisions

12. Democracy and Other Forms of
Government
 Direct Democracy as a Model
 Direct democracy has been practiced in Switzerland and in New
England (U.S.) town hall meetings
 At these town hall meetings, issues such as local taxation, hiring
city officials, and deciding local ordinances are made by majority
vote
 Modern adaptions to direct democracy in other states:
 Initiative – a procedure by which voters can propose a law or
constitutional amendment
 Referendum – an electoral device whereby legislative or constitutional
measures are referred by the legislature to the voters for approval or
disapproval
 Recall – allows the people to vote to remove an official from state office

13. Democracy and Other Forms of
Government
 The Dangers of Direct Democracy
 The framers of the U.S. Constitution were opposed to direct
democracy
 They felt that it was dangerous and could lead to instability
 The masses were considered:
 Too uneducated to govern directly
 Prone to the influence of demagogues (manipulative political leaders)
 Likely to shun minority rights for the tyranny of the majority
 However, government based on the consent of the people
became popular during the 1700s and 1800s
 Idea that government and laws derive their legitimacy from the consent
of the governed

14. Democracy and Other Forms of
Government
 A Democratic Republic
 The framers of the U.S. Constitution chose to create a republic
 A form of government in which sovereign power rests with the people
rather than with a king or monarch
 A republic is based on popular sovereignty
 Concept that ultimate political authority is based on the will of the
people
 The U.S. Constitution created a form of republican government
known as a democratic republic
 A republic in which representatives elected by the people make and
enforce laws and policies

15. Democracy and Other Forms of
Government
 A Democratic Republic
 Initially, the Constitution ensured that the Senate and president
would be selected by political elites
 However, later changes to the Constitution allowed for voters to
directly elect members of the Senate
 Over the course of two centuries, democratic values grew in
popularity, giving our system another name, representative
democracy
 Almost an exact meaning as democratic republic, but European nations
interpreted our system of government to include a monarch in a
ceremonial role (Great Britain)

16. Democracy and Other Forms of
Government
 Principles of Democratic Government
 All representative democracies rest on the rule of the people as
expressed through the election of government officials
 Historically, only free white males that owned land could vote in the
U.S.
 Women gained the right to vote in 1920
 Rights for African Americans were not secured until the Civil Rights
Movement in the 1960s
 Today, universal suffrage is the rule
 Right of all adults to vote for their representatives

17. Check my SlideShare page
(rfair07) for more lectures
Lectures posted for:
 United States History before 1877 / after 1877
 Texas History
 United States (Federal) Government / Texas Government
 Slide 17 of 40
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