Forms of Government

A few people hold all the power.

• Autocracy
• Democracy
• Oligarchy

A ruler who wields absolute power. Receives power by taking it through force. An autocrat.

• Dictator
• President
• Constitutional Monarch

Post is inherited and lasts until death or abdication.

• Monarchy
• Dictatorship

The king or queen has power that is limited by a constitution and parliament.

• Absolute Monarchy
• Constitutional Monarchy

1. The voters in a community meet together to make decisions and laws.
2. Suited for smaller communities.

• Direct Democracy
• Representative Democracy

1. A system of government in which the people elect candidates to make policies and laws for them.
2. This is the type of government that the United States has.

• Direct Democracy
• Representative Democracy

Which type of government gets their power from religious tradition?

• Democracy
• Theocracy
• Monarchy
• Dictatorship

Totalitarianism is the absolute control of a government over every aspect of its citizens’ lives.

• True 
• False

Why do the individual voters have more power in a democracy than they do in an oligarchy or dictatorship?

• Dictators are always mean and cruel. 
• Oligarchies and dictatorships are usually run by the military and suppress voters.
• A democracy keeps the power totally in the hands of local governments. 
• The voters get to choose the people who make the laws.

The type of government where individuals elect leaders to represent them and these representatives are bound by the law or some form of constitution would be

• A monarchy
• A dictatorship
• A democracy
• A republic