Why governments exist, and the main forms they take

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Card A, forms of government (our words; described, not ranked). Direct democracy: citizens make the laws themselves by voting on them. Republic: there is no monarch; citizens elect representatives who make the laws, and the head of state is chosen by voters or by elected officials. Absolute monarchy: a monarch inherits power, and no law or body can limit it. Constitutional monarchy: a monarch inherits a role as head of state, but a constitution and an elected parliament limit it. Authoritarian rule: one person or a small group holds power without free and fair elections or legal limits, and the position is not passed down by inheritance. Card B, five made-up places. Aldermoor: its 400 voters meet each spring; each voter may speak, and the whole meeting votes yes or no on each law. A three-person board the voters elect carries out the laws. Brenhaven: in free and fair elections, voters choose a 60-member assembly that writes the laws and a president who carries them out. Once a decade voters also vote yes or no on a change to the constitution. Corvale: a queen inherits the throne. She can veto any law, can dismiss the elected parliament without giving a reason, and no court can overrule her. Dunmark: a king inherits the throne. A written constitution says he signs the laws an elected parliament passes and cannot change them or dismiss the parliament. Eastfold: a general took power with the army. Elections are held, but just the general's party may put up candidates, and the courts follow his orders.

2. 1.

   Zee reads cards A and B. Which form on card A fits Aldermoor?

   • Republic: the meeting of 400 voters is an assembly that speaks for the rest of the town
   • Republic: the voters elect a three-person board, so they rule through representatives
   • Direct democracy: the citizens themselves vote on each law at the spring meeting
   • No form fits, since a meeting of 400 voters is too small to count as a government
3. 2.

   Luz reads cards A and B. Which form on card A fits Corvale?

   • Constitutional monarchy: the queen inherits the throne and an elected parliament exists in Corvale
   • Authoritarian rule: one person holds power without free and fair elections or legal limits
   • Republic: an elected parliament sits in Corvale, so its people choose their representatives
   • Absolute monarchy: the queen inherits power, and no law, court or parliament can limit it
4. 3.

   Pia reads cards A and B. Which form on card A fits Dunmark?

   • Absolute monarchy: the king inherits the throne and signs each law, so the king rules without limit
   • Authoritarian rule: the king's signature is needed on each law, so the king controls them
   • Constitutional monarchy: an inherited king is limited by the constitution and an elected parliament
   • Republic: an elected parliament passes the laws, so voters choose the people who make them
5. 4.

   Jun reads cards A and B. Which form on card A fits Eastfold?

   • Constitutional monarchy: the general and an elected parliament share the power in Eastfold, limiting each other
   • Absolute monarchy: one ruler holds unlimited power over the courts and the army
   • Republic: elections are held, so citizens choose the people who make the laws in Eastfold
   • Authoritarian rule: a general holds power without free elections, and the courts follow his orders
6. 5.

   Bo reads card B. Eastfold and Brenhaven both hold elections. Which detail makes the two differ?

   • Eastfold's elections choose a president, while Brenhaven's voters choose just an assembly
   • Eastfold holds elections on a fixed date and Brenhaven's date changes, so the timing of the votes separates them
   • Eastfold's leader gained power through an election and Brenhaven's president through the army
   • Brenhaven's elections are free and fair, while in Eastfold just the general's party may put up candidates
7. 6.

   Tala reads cards A and B. What change would turn Aldermoor from a direct democracy into a republic?

   • The number of voters grows from 400 to 4,000, with each still voting on each law at the spring meeting
   • Voters elect a council that writes the laws, and the meeting no longer votes on them
   • The three-person board gets the power to veto the laws the meeting passes
   • No change could, since a place with a spring meeting stays a direct democracy
8. 7.

   Esme reads cards A and B. A classmate says card B shows constitutional monarchy works better than absolute monarchy. What do the cards support?

   • The cards describe how each place is arranged and report no results, so they cannot show which works better
   • Dunmark works better than Corvale, since its constitution stops the king from dismissing parliament
   • The cards show the two forms differ in who limits the ruler, which settles the ranking
   • Card B says nothing about monarchies, since both of its monarchs belong to made-up places and not real ones
9. 8.

   Milo reads card A. A student says Corvale's queen is authoritarian because no free elections choose her. Which reply fits card A?

   • Card A separates them: an inherited ruler with unlimited power is an absolute monarch, not authoritarian
   • She is neither form, because card A does not allow a queen to hold unlimited power over a parliament
   • She is authoritarian, since the lack of free elections is the main test card A gives for that form, whatever else is said
   • Corvale fits both forms at once, because card A lets one place sit in two forms when a ruler holds power
10. 9.

    Ren's note says: "Dunmark is a republic because an elected parliament passes its laws." Which fix fits cards A and B?

    • Dunmark is a direct democracy, because voters choose the parliament that passes its laws for them
    • Dunmark is a republic once its king signs, since signing makes the king an elected official
    • Dunmark is an absolute monarchy, because its king inherits the throne and signs the laws of the country
    • Dunmark is a constitutional monarchy: an inherited king is head of state, and a republic has no monarch
11. 10.

    Kira's note says: "Brenhaven is a direct democracy because voters vote on the constitution." Which fix fits cards A and B?

    • Brenhaven is an authoritarian state, because its president carries out the laws of the country
    • Brenhaven is a republic, but the decade vote must go, since card A allows no direct votes
    • Brenhaven cannot be classified, because it mixes an assembly with a direct vote on the constitution
    • Brenhaven's assembly writes the laws, so it is a republic, with one direct vote added each decade