F
OCUS
Q
UESTIONS
:
1. What is government?
2. What are some common forms of governments?
3. Why is government important?
4. What are some common rights and responsibilities for our citizens?
5. What are the three branches of government?
6. What are the roles and functions of each branch?
What is Government?
We have heard somuch about government, especially during the economic crash
of 2008-2010.
Government
is one or more people who have the power tomake and
enforce laws and rules for a country or region. Two other words associated with
government are civics and politics.
Civics
is the study of the rights and duties of
citizens living in a country.
Politics
is looking at how the activities of government are
put into practice at the different levels.
Government is vitally necessary. It
provides us with written rules that allow
us to live together in an orderly society.
People who work for the government
also provide its citizens withmany
services. There are several kinds of
governments on our planet. The
chart on the next page describes
themost common ones.
LESSON
23
KEY
WORDS
government
civics
democracy
politics
constitutional
monarchy
dictatorship
communist
presidential republic
monarchy
anarchy
theocracy
republic
KEY
PLACES
Somalia
Washington, D.C.
KEY
GOVERNMENT TERMS
federal
Congress
national
Cabinet
executive
House of
Representatives
legislative
Senate
judicial
W
HY IS
G
OOD
G
OVERNMENT
S
O
I
MPORTANT
?
104
Understanding Pennsylvania
The Capitol Building
inWashington, D.C.
is whereUnited
States Senators and
United States
Representatives
work to create and
pass bills which
the President can
sign into law.
