Government and the StateCH 1 .1

• How does government affects our daily lives?

•maintaining civil society•safeguarding rights•preventing anarchy.

What is Government

• Government: is the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies.• Made up of people who exercise its

powers, and those who have authority and control over people.

• Public Policies: All those things a government decides to do. • Examples: taxation, defense, education,

crime and health care……….the list is endless.

Powers

• Legislative Power: to make laws and to frame public policy.

• Executive Power: to execute, enforce, and administer laws.

• Judicial Power: to interpret laws, to determine their meaning, and to settle disputes that arise within the society.

• These powers are outlined constitutions.

The State

• The worlds dominant political unit is the state: a body of people, living in a defined territory, organized politically and with the power to make and enforce laws. • The state is often called a country or nation. • A state must have the following:

• Population • Territory • Sovereignty: Every state is sovereign; it has supreme and

absolute power within its own territory and can decide its own foreign and domestic policies.

• Sovereign States do not have to answer to any other authority.

• As a result States within the United States are not sovereign and so are not states in the international, legal sense.

• Government

The Purpose of Government

• Preamble to the Constitution: Describes the goals of the United States’ Federal Government • Form a More Perfect Union

(keep the states working together)

• Establish Justice• Insure Domestic Tranquility

(keep order) • Provide for the Common

Defense• Promote the General Welfare• Secure the Blessings of Liberty

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=7578&title=Schoolhouse_Rock___The_Preamble

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMyfGo-Pv58

WT Journal #1

• “If men were angels no government would be necessary.”

• Respond to the above quote, do you agree with the above quote? What is the purpose and the role/responsibility of government? Why do you believe that government is important to study? Provide examples and expand on your answers.