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There are four major theories of how government originates:
The Evolutionary Theory holds that the first governments evolved naturally from the family. Over time one family grew very large and eventually became what is known as a clan, where all of the relations from one large family continue to propagate together.
There are four theories on the origin of government: Force Theory, Evolutionary Theory, Divine Right Theory and Social Contract Theory.
The Divine Right theory claims that God created the state and that God had given those of royal birth a divine right to rule. The social contract theory claims the origin of state is that of social contract.
Five theories in explanation of the origin of the state, but no single theory offers an adequate explanation. The theory which explains and is now accepted as a convincing origin of the state, is the Historical or Evolutionary theory.
According to evolutionary theory, government originates from a family or clan-bound structure, which can explain the formation of the world’s first political structures. These earliest and very loosely formed governments were the result of a shift from hunter-gatherer societies to more settled agricultural societies.
The foundations of American government lie squarely in the 17th and 18th century European Enlightenment. The American founders were well versed in the writings of the philosophes, whose ideas influenced the shaping of the new country.
What do you think is the most plausible explanation for how governments originated? The government would draft (create) armies and they could fight another country to gain land. When land is gained that means more power that can lead to the country gaining more resources and money which boosts the economy.
Evolutionary Theory
One person in the family was determined to be the leader of the family. On a primitive level, a basic government was formed. Over decades, the family became a clan and a clan became a tribe. The state was identified when the tribe settled in a designated area and claimed it as their own.
What theory holds that the first governments formed as a result of people agreeing among themselves to submit to the authority of a state? According to the theory of divine right of kings, a king answers to God and to the people he or she rules.
According to evolutionary theory, government originates from a family or clan-bound structure, which can explain the formation of the world’s first political structures. These earliest and very loosely formed governments were the result of a shift from hunter-gatherer societies to more settled agricultural societies.
Key points. The US government is based on ideas of limited government, including natural rights, popular sovereignty, republicanism, and social contract. Limited government is the belief that the government should have certain restrictions in order to protect the individual rights and civil liberties of citizens.
The famous introduction clearly reflected John Locke’s SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY: “…to secure these rights [Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness], Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Jefferson further reasoned that since the British government had …
The family as a model for the organization of the state is a theory of political philosophy. … The first known writer to use it (certainly in any clear and developed way) was Aristotle, who argued that the natural progression of human beings was from the family via small communities to the polis.
The Genesis of Divine Origin Theory:
The oldest theory about the origin of the state is the divine origin theory. It is also known as the theory of divine right of Kings. The exponents of this theory believe that the state did not come into being by any effort of man. It is created by God.
The purpose is expressed in the preamble to the Constitution: ”We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more per- fect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do …
Rousseau’s political philosophy. The two theories that best predict the rise of a dictator are Force Theory and the Theory of Divine Right.
The founders of the United States were deeply influenced by republicanism, by Locke, and by the optimism of the European Enlightenment. George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson all concurred that laws, rather than men, should be the final sanction and that government should be responsible to the governed.
The Second Continental Congress authored the Articles of Confederation which in 1781 created the United States In Congress Assembled, the nation’s first government. As its first act on November 5, 1781, the original government elected John Hanson unopposed as the nation’s first president.
Absolute monarchy exists when the family has a lot of power and say in the political matters of the society, whereas constitutional monarchies are more ceremonial in their roles. A democracy is a form of government where the power belongs to the people.
In United States constitutional theory, compact theory is an interpretation of the Constitution which holds that the United States was formed through a compact agreed upon by all the states, and that the federal government is thus a creation of the states.
Under the force theory, the most important purposes would be providing leadership and maintaining order. Under the social contract theory, the most important purposes would be maintaining order and providing national security.
Q. Which of the following most accurately describes the force theory of the origin of states? God gave rulers the right to run states. States originated from the force of the strongest individuals.
divine right of kings, in European history, a political doctrine in defense of monarchical absolutism, which asserted that kings derived their authority from God and could not therefore be held accountable for their actions by any earthly authority such as a parliament.
pertaining to evolution or development; developmental: the evolutionary origin of species. of, relating to, or in accordance with a theory of evolution, especially in biology.