Democracy

Democracy

Lesson Essential Question:
How does a democracy
work?
Learning Intention:
Students will complete an
analysis of democracies.

Success Criteria
Students will do the following

: Analyze information material

:Answer a series of questions
:Formulate a position on
democracies and capitalism.

Standards
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SOCIAL STUDIES: 8.4 Various diplomatic, economic, and
ideological factors contributed to the United States decision to
enter World War I. Involvement in the war significantly altered the
lives of Americans. 8.4a European militarism, the alliance system,
imperialism, and nationalism were all factors that contributed to
the start of World War II.

●

NEXT GENERATION:8R2: Determine one or more themes or central
ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of
the text; summarize a text.

Social Emotional Learning (SEL):
Have you ever been in a situation in which you were assigned to work with a group of
people on a project? When roles were assigned to complete the project, did you find that
there was one partner who wanted to “take control” of the project and wanted to
control any discussion about it (almost like a dictator). Basically silencing any ideas or
suggestions about the project. Did that make you feel that your ideas were not being
equally represented in the project, that you did not have a voice?

Let's have a discussion!!

HISTORICAL CONTEXT: What is a democracy?

A democracy is a government run
by the people. Each citizen has a
say (or vote) in how the
government is run. This is
different from a monarchy or
dictatorship where one person
(the king or dictator) has all the
power.

Types of Democracy

There are two main types of
democracies:

DIRECT DEMOCRACIES

REPRESENTATIVE

DEMOCRACIES

Direct -

A DIRECT DEMOCRACY is one in which

every citizen votes on all important decisions.

One of the first direct democracies was in

Athens, Greece. All of the citizens would

gather to vote in the main square on major

issues. A direct democracy becomes difficult

when the population grows. Imagine the 300

million people of the United States trying to

get together in one place to decide an issue.

It would be impossible.

Representative -

The other type of democracy is a
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY.
This is where the people elect
representatives to run the
government. Another name for this
type of democracy is a democratic
republic. The United States is a
representative democracy. The
citizens elect representatives such as
the president, members of congress,
and senators to run the government.

What economic system is often
connected with democracies? -
CAPITALISM

Capitalism is the economic system in
the United States. It is a market
economy. Capitalism means that
people,not the government, own
most businesses. In the U.S.,
businesses decide what to sell.
CAPITALISM
: competitive markets,
: price systems
: private property
: voluntary exchange

Competition among businesses

Is the United States a republic or
democracy?

While often categorized as a
democracy, the United States is
more accurately defined as a
constitutional federal republic.
What does this mean?
“Constitutional” refers to the fact
that government in the United
States is based on a Constitution
which is the supreme law of the
United States.