1. Government

2. What is government and Why does it exist?
Government is the institution by which society makes and enforces its public policies.
Public Policy – all those things government does.
Government is the institution through which the state maintains social order, provides public services and enforces binding decisions on citizens.

3. Who Governs and to what ends?
Traditional answer – Those people who exercise government’s powers and have authority and control over other people
Legislators – make the laws
Executives –administer and enforce the laws
Judges – apply the law to court cases
This course will be about answering this question as we explore
Foundations of American Government
Government institutions
The Political Process, Participants and the Political Process

4. What is a state?
The state can be defined as a body of people living in a defined territory, organized politically under a government, having the power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority.

5. Characteristics of a state
People / Population
Land or Territory
Government
Sovereignty

6. People
People may be homogeneous - people who are basically alike or heterogeneous - people of different races, language, religions and customs.
The nature of a state’s population affect its stability. Where the people who share a general political and social consensus about basic beliefs have the most stable governments.

7. The mobility of the population has an effect on political power – shifting power in the USA (rural to cities, cities to suburbs, north to south)

8. Territory or Land
Boundaries – Exact shape or location of boundaries are often a source of conflict
US has gained territory from purchase, negotiation, and war.

9. Sovereignty The key characteristic of a state is sovereignty
Sovereignty is absolute authority within one’s own territory
Sovereignty is the one characteristic that distinguishes the state from all lesser political units (The States within the United States are not sovereign and not states)

10. Location of sovereignty within a state is of supreme importance.
If the people are sovereign then the government is democratic.
If a single person, or a small group hold absolute power a dictatorship exists.

11. Government Every state is politically organized.
Every state has some form of government.

12. Terms
Country and Nation are terms used interchangeably with state but …
Country is a geographic term referring to a place or boundaries
Nation is an ethnic term referring to races or other groups of people
A State like one of the United States is a lesser political unit lacking absolute authority within its own boundaries.

13. Where did the state come from?
The Four Theories RE: Origin of the state
Force Theory
Evolutionary Theory
Divine Right Theory
Social Contract Theory

14. Force Theory
One person or group claimed control over an area and forced all within it to submit to that person’s or group’s rule.

15. Evolutionary Theory
The state evolved naturally out of the family. In the primitive family one person was the head (government). Over time a family became a network of relatives, a clan. Clans became tribes and later clans gave up their nomadic ways turning to agriculture and the state was born.

16. Divine Right Theory
The Gods have chosen certain people to rule – by divine right
Some believed their rulers were gods, descendents of gods or at least chosen by gods
People believed the state was created by God
Concept of royal birth
To disobey a ruler is to disobey God

17. Social Contract
Philosophers believed the origin of the state was in a social contract
Thomas Hobbes
In a state of nature no government existed
Without gov’t life was cruel brutish and short
By contract the people surrendered to the state power needed to maintain order – The state agreed to protect its citizens
People did not have the authority to break the contract

18. John Locke Took the contract further ….
Locke defended Parliament’s overthrow of King James II
He wrote people were endowed with the right to life, liberty and property (natural rights)
To preserve their rights they willingly contracted to give power to a government.
If government failed to preserve the rights of the people they could break the contract
Locke influenced Jefferson

19. Declaration Of Independence
Key Principles
All human beings are created equal and they are endowed with certain rights
These are rights to life , liberty, and pursuit of happiness – Unalienable rights
Government was created to protect these basic rights
Government derive their power from the consent of the governed
If a government abuses its power the people may change, eliminate and establish a new one.

20. Purposes of Government
To maintain social order
To provide public services
To provide national security and common defense
To provide for and control the economic system