Cultural Views on Government Over Time

Michael Richards, Social Studies, Bailey Middle School

Curriculum Unit (pdf)


Over the course of human history, our view on government has been like a pendulum. At one end is the idea of authoritarian governments, where one man has complete control over a country and its citizens. At the opposite end is the idea of democratic governments, where people have more rights, freedoms and a say in how their country is run. Over time, that pendulum has swung back and forth between those conflicting ideas. For our 7th grade World History curriculum we cover five hundred years of history, therefore including events that have seen our society’s belief in how governments should operate change drastically. My unit, Cultural Views on Government Over Time, will be a unit meant to help give students an understanding of how our society has developed, and evolved, its view on the role of government. The goal is to help students understand historical events by understanding the thinking of the time period.