Unit 1 - Foundations of American Government

Chapter 1   Principles of Government

Chapter Objectives

• Define government and the basic powers government holds.
• Describe the four defining characteristics of the state.
• Understand the purpose of government in the United States and other countries.
• Classify governments according to three sets of characteristics.
• Identify different ways that power can be distributed, geographically, within a state.
• Describe a government by how power is distribed between the executive branch and legislative branch.
• Understand the foundations of democracy.
• Analyze the connections between democracy and the free enterprise system.