Social Studies - Government Notes What is a government and what does it do? A government is when a person or group of people have the power to make, enforce, and interpret laws. What did the Founders think would happen without a government and laws? ‘Stronger people might try to take away other people’s rights Stronger people might force the weaker people to do whatever they wanted them to do. Stronger people might try to take property away from the weaker people. « Then the weaker people might join together to try to take away the rights of the stronger people and no one would be safe. Life would be like a constant state of war. Why do people form © To protect individual rights. governments? ¢ To provide safety and security. To provide a way to manage conflict. ¢ To make, enforce, and interpret laws. What is Popular It means that the power and authority of the government comes Sovereignty? from the people. What is Limited Government? The national government doesn’t have too much power. It can only do what the people say. The government must obey its own, laws. What is Democracy? A form of government in which the people have the power to govern. What is Direct Democracy? ‘A form of democracy in which the people all meet to make decisions and to create the laws. What is Representative Democracy? A form of democracy where the people choose representatives to make decisions for them. How many parts does the Constitution have? It has three main parts: 1. Preamble (or introduction) 2. Articles 3. Amendments (changes that have been made to it) Why is the Constitution referred to as a “living document”? Because it can change and grow to fit the needs of the people. It has been amended or changed 27 times since it was first written.What are the 3 Individual Rights? Whaat is the Bill of Rights? Life is the right to live without fear of being injured or killed by others, Liberty is the right to be free. Property is the right to own things such as land, a house, or a business. The first 10 amendments What are the three branches of the U.S. government? What does each branch do? Who makes up each branch? Legislative — makes the laws; Congress = House of Representatives and Senate Executive — enforces the law; President and Cabinet Judicial — checks the laws to make sure they are Constitutional; Supreme Court What are the three different levels of government found in our country? 1. local government 2. state government 3. national / federal government