CONTENT STATEMENT
- Democracies, dictatorships and monarchies are categories for understanding the relationship between those in power or authority and citizens.
CONTENT ELABORATION
Prior to grade five, students have studied democracy. In grade five, students are introduced to dictatorships and monarchies. Democracies, dictatorships, and monarchies are three basic ways of describing the relationship that exists between those in power and citizens.
The focus of this content statement is on the relationship between those governing and those governed:
- In a democracy, the power of those in authority is limited because the people retain the supreme power.
- In a dictatorship, a ruler or small group with absolute power over the people holds power, often through force.
- In a monarchy, the authority over the people is retained through a tradition of allegiance.
The terms democracy, dictatorship, and monarchy are useful in helping students understand the relationship between those in power or authority and citizens in the Western Hemisphere. Grade-six students will build on this to understand that the basic categories often overlap.
EXPECTATIONS FOR LEARNING
Explain the relationship between those in power and individual citizens in a democracy, a dictatorship, and a monarchy.