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Name: ________________________                                                 Section:__________

 

American Government Chapter 1 Reading Guide

 

Part I: NOTE! There are two sections to be completed – A & B.

 

A. Read Section 1 and answer the following questions:

 

1. List and define the four characteristics of a state?

2. List and define the four theories of the origins of a state

3. List six purposes of government?

4. Answer the question in the caption on page 8.

5. Evaluate Ms. Jordan’s quotation on p. 9.

 

B. Fill in the Blank:

 

1. A government's __________ are all the things a government decides to do.       

2. A state is described as  ____________ when it has supreme and absolute power within its own territory.         

3. A ___________ is the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies.

4 A ____________ is characterized as having population, territory, sovereignty, and government.

5. The __________________ is the theory that holds that people agree to give up power to the state to promote the well being of all.

 

Part II: Read Section 2 and answer the following questions:

 

1. Explain the quote by Alexander Pope on page 12.

2. What are the 3 ways governments are classified?

3. What are the 3 forms of government, based on where power is located geographically? Give an example of each.

4. What is the relationship between the executive and legislative branches in a presidential form of government?

5. What happens in the parliamentary form of government if the Prime Minister doesn’t receive the support of the majority in Parliament?

6. What problem does the presidential form of government experience that the parliamentary form of government does not?

7. What type of government did the U.S. experience under the Articles of Confederation?

8. Where did the term “dictator” originate? What is an autocracy? An oligarchy?

9. In a democracy upon whom does supreme authority rest?

10. What is the difference between direct and representative democracy?

11. Answer one of the two questions on p.17.

 

 

Part III: Read Section 3 and answer the following questions:

1. Complete the following chart:

 

Five Basic Concepts of Democracy

Concept

Explanation

Example

1. A recognition of the fundamental worth and dignity of every person.

 

 

2. A respect for the equality of all persons.

 

 

 

 

3. A faith in majority rule and an insistence upon minority rights.

 

 

 

 

4. An acceptance of the necessity of compromise.

 

 

 

 

5. An insistence upon the widest possible degree of individual freedom.

 

 

 

2. Does a democracy strive to arrive at the “right” or best” answer to solve solutions to public problems?

3. Explain the concept of compromise as it relates to problem solving in a democratic society.

4. Compare and contrast anarchy and democracy in the chart below:

 

Anarchy

Democracy

Likes

 

 

 

 

 

Differences

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Under what circumstances can absolute individual freedom exist?

6. Upon which individual freedoms does democracy place its highest values?

7. Describe the U.S. economic system and how the law of supply and demand applies.

8. Answer the question in the Government Online box on p. 22.

9. What is the role of government in a mixed economy?

10. How is internet availability likely to affect democracy in the United States?

11. Read the Supreme Court Case on page 23. Answer the two “Questions for Discussion” at the bottom of the Chapter 1: Close Up on the Supreme Court Worksheet (see attached).