Oklahoma Social Studies USG.C.1

Standard Cluster

Compare the formation of contemporary governments in terms of access, use, and justification of power. Examine the purposes and functions of government, including the establishment of justice, promotion of general welfare, and liberty as stated in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States. Analyze the essential characteristics of limited versus unlimited systems of government. Compare historic and contemporary examples of unlimited systems of governments (e.g., monarchy, oligarchy, theocracy, autocracy) to examples of limited systems (e.g., direct democracy, constitutional republic, constitutional monarchy). Describe common characteristics of representative democracies (e.g., idea of natural rights and liberties, the rule of law, equality of all citizens under the law, majority rule with minority rights, the necessity of compromise). Examine the founding principles of the United States of America’s constitutional republic. Explain the principle of popular sovereignty which asserts that governments are created and sustained by the consent of the people who are the legitimate source of all political authority. Analyze how the United States of America’s government reflects both a democracy and a republic. Explain how the Constitution of the United States of America reflects a balance between a concern for the public good and a concern for the protection of individual rights. Evaluate how religious traditions, moral philosophy, and enlightenment principles contributed to the development of key American founding ideas, such as natural rights, liberty, and limited government during the drafting of the Constitution of the United States. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of ways in which governmental power can be distributed. Describe the structures of unitary, federal, and confederal systems, including contemporary examples of the presidential versus parliamentary systems. Compare structural differences in terms of effectiveness, prevention of abusive power, and responsiveness to the popular will. Examine the role of government in a nation’s economy. Compare the role of government in a market versus command economic systems. Describe the United States of America government’s role in a market system including the promotion of competition, protection of private property and consumer rights, and access to public goods and services. Examine how government policies in a market system can be used to stabilize and stimulate economic growth.

Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026)