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Government and the State

Government and the State. 1:1. How Is Government Involved In Your Life?. Is Government involved in your life? If so, how much? What is democracy? Three things to know: The purpose of government The major forms of government The major concepts of government. What is government?.

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Government and the State

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  1. Government and the State 1:1

  2. How Is Government Involved In Your Life? • Is Government involved in your life? • If so, how much? • What is democracy? • Three things to know: • The purpose of government • The major forms of government • The major concepts of government

  3. What is government? • Government – The institution through which a society makes and enforces public policies • Public Policy – All of the things a gov’t decides to do • Taxation • Defense • Education • ...and on and on and on and on and on

  4. A Brief History of Government • Government systems have been around as long as humans

  5. A Brief History of Government • Aristotle – Greek philosopher • “Man is by nature a political animal”

  6. The State • State – A body of people, living in a defined territory, organized politically, and able to make and enforce laws • 4 Parts to a State • Population • Territory • Sovereignty • Government

  7. Population • Varies from state to state • Clearly, to have a state, you must have people

  8. Territory • Land with recognized boundaries • Varies from state to state • United States – 3.7 Million Sq. Miles • USSR – 6.6 Million Sq. Miles • San Marino – 24 Sq. Miles

  9. Sovereignty • Every state is sovereign • It has supreme and absolute power within its boundaries • It can make its own policies, decide its own future • Determine its own form of Gov’t

  10. Sovereignty • States within the United States are not sovereign • Whomever holds the power in a state is of extreme importance • Determines what kind of Gov’t you will have

  11. Government • Government consists of the machinery and the personnel by which the state is ruled • Every state is politically organized • Many different forms of Gov’t • The power to rule can be enforced many different ways

  12. Origins of the State • Four Theories: • Force Theory • Evolutionary Theory • Divine Right Theory • Social Contract Theory

  13. Force Theory • Theorists believe the state may have been born through force • One person or a group claimed control of an area and forced people to abide by their rule

  14. Evolutionary Theory • Primitive Family – The head of the household ruled over the family > Clan – The original family has offspring and eventually the connected families become a clan > Tribe – The clan abandons its nomadic ways and the state is born

  15. Divine Right Theory • The state is created by God, who in turn has bestowed upon royalty a “divine right” to rule • Subjects are bound to obey their ruler as they would God • Present day democracy was / is a challenge to Divine Right • Many civilizations used this theory to determine government systems

  16. Social Contract Theory • Significant to the American political system • Developed in France in the 17th and 18th centuries • The building blocks of democracy

  17. Social Contract Thomas Hobbes: “state of nature” “nasty, brutish, and short” only the strongest survived

  18. Social Contract • Humans overcame this lifestyle by agreeing to form the state • Giving up to get • The people had, by contract, giving up some of their rights in return for stable and agreeable government • Contract = Constitution • The state arose out of a voluntary act of free people

  19. Social Contract • 3 Things Social Contract Theory Says: • 1. State exists only to serve the will of the people • 2. The people are the sole source of political power • 3. The people are free to give or take power away

  20. Social Contract Concepts • Popular Sovereignty • Limited Government • Individual Rights

  21. The Purpose of Government • Preamble of the Constitution • To Form a More Perfect Union • Linking people together, power in numbers • To Establish Justice • The law must be reasonable, fair, and impartial • To Insure Domestic Tranquility • Keeping the peace at home

  22. Purpose of Government • To Provide For the Common Defense • Defending against foreign nations • To Promote the General Welfare • Tasks the government performs for your benefit • To Secure the Blessings of Liberty • No person can be free to do what he or she pleases • “You can only be free, if I am free.” - Clarence Darrow • “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty” - T. Jefferson

  23. The Best Laid Plans Are Flexible • It is up to each new generation to abide by and grow with and upon these beliefs • The Constitution was made to stretch

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