AG 1.A

FONTS

American Government

Unit I, Part A: Introduction to Government

What are Public Policies?

Theories on How States Developed

What is Government?

Public Policy - Anything a

government decides to do, including making laws, leveling taxes on citizens, responding to natural disasters, and so on.

Therefore, government is, at its core,

the person/people who have power in a particular society & the things that do with said power.

Government is one of the oldest

institutions, going back before recorded history. We will cover some of that, but focus almost entirely upon American Government

Government is usually mentioned in Negative Terms.

"Government took my retirement. Government keeps me down Government took my money." And so on

Force Theory - A person or

people with power asserted control over all the people of a region

Evolution Theory - The state

developed from family to clan to tribe to government over time. Strongest Warrior -> Chief; Strongest Chief -> King

But what is Government?

Government - The way a society makes & enforces public policies, made up of people who hold power & those who have the authority to use it.

Characteristics of a State

The Purpose of Our Government

States/Countries share common traits:

Population - The people who live in the state

Territory - The land that a state occupies

Sovereignty - The right to rule a state. I.E. the democratically elected US Government has the right to rule the US

Government - Organization that makes and enforces laws without answering to a higher authority

The Purpose of Our Government

Now that we've talked about what

makes a State/Country and some of the terms related to it, we will discuss the purposes of the US Government, in accordance with the Constitution.

To Unite People - States/countries

work better when people get along

To Establish Justice - To create fair

laws and apply them equally to all citizens

To Ensure Peace and Harmony -

Violence, crime, & chaos are bad for everyone.

To Defend the People from

Danger - Foreign and domestic threats.

To Promote General Welfare -

Doing things that benefit all Americans.

To Guard the People's Liberties

and Freedoms - Protecting your natural rights

Theories on How States Developed

What is a State?

Divine Right Theory - God gave

certain people (Kings and Queens) the right to rule lesser people.

Social Contract Theory - People

are born completely free but agree to give up some rights/freedoms in order to have greater peace and prosperity. Basis for democracies like the US.

The first step in understanding American

Government is understanding what America is.

The United States of America is NOT a

nation, there are simply too many different cultures

The United States is a State. Not to be

confused with the Fifty States, those are the same as provinces for other countries.

A State or a Country is a body of people,

living in a defined territory, with an organized government, and having power to make and enforce laws without the consent of a higher authority.