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1. The Nature of Government

What government is for, the forms it takes, and the values a democracy claims for itself: liberty, equality, justice.

1. The Nature of Government

Is government to be feared or loved? Thomas Hobbes set out to discover that in his book Leviathan, which spawned this famous title page that depicts government…

1a. The Purposes of Government

Albrecht Dürer was an artist who worked during the Thirty Years War. His work reflects the turmoil of the time. The invasions of the German area during the Thi…

1b. Types of Government

Louis XIV, the King of France from 1643 until 1715, is the definition of an absolute monarch. His famous phrase, "I am the State," is an illustration of the po…

1c. What Is a Democracy?

The ancient Romans had a working democracy for the early part of their history. The Forum in Rome is where political meetings and votes were held. The Forum ca…

1d. Democratic Values: Liberty, Equality, Justice

Liberty and equality. These words represent basic values of democratic political systems, including that of the United States. Rule by absolute monarchs and em…