The Roots of American
Government
Date
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What is the key function of a government?
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Make public policy decisions for a group of people
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Is this only on a national level?
In order to do this, institutions must exist
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What is an institution?
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On a national level, we have the Congress, the
president, the court system, the bureaucracy
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What are some institutions on the local level? In
Arlington?
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What is the main problem with government?
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If govern means (basically) to control, how do we decide
what the government should be allowed to do?
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Basic questions are:
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How should we govern?
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What should government do?
Americans believe that the best answer to the above are
through a democracy
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How is the democracy to do these?
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What Americans believe has become known as the functions of
government✤
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Maintain a national defense
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Meaning?
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US spends about $650 billion a year on national defense
Provide public goods and services
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Meaning?
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Collective goods: Things for all that cannot be denied to
anyone and shared by all
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Who do you think supplies these?
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Government. Why?
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If collective goods are provided by the government,
who supplies the rest?
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Private sector (sometimes by government)
What is an example of a collective good and what is
an example of something provided by private
industry?
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Preserve order
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Meaning?
Socialize the young
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Meaning?
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Some say: indoctrination.
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Also known as nationalism. Why?
Collect taxes
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Why?
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About one out of every three dollars earned in America
goes to, in some part, the national, state, and local
government
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These functions go to assist the people (citizens) by
providing for public goods, equality, freedom, order
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Equality✤
Means different things, depending upon the time
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Political: Each citizen gets one vote
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Social: Wealth, education, status
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Opportunity: Each person has the same chance to
succeed in life
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Outcome: Society must ensure that people are equal
and that government must design ways to do so
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Freedom✤
Can be freedom from and freedom of
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FDR: freedom of religion, freedom of speech,
freedom from fear, freedom from want
Freedom of: ability to do something
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Often called liberty
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Examples: speech, religion, press, assembly
Freedom from: fight against exploitation and
oppression
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Often called civil rights
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Order✤
In the Constitution, it is referred to as “domestic
Tranquility”
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Usually seen as protecting life and preserving
property
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There is social order
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Patterns of authority in society and traditional
modes of behavior...means, the way things have
always worked
Established through police power
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So, equality, freedom, and order...how?
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Different methods of governing bring different advantages and
disadvantages
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Monarchy
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Totalitarianism
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Government should have unlimited power controlling all aspects
of society
Oligarchy
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Rule by one person to benefit their subjects
Few people ruling for their own interests
Democracy
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What about it?
Baron de Montesquieu
Understanding the Principles of Government and law of Baron de
Montesquieu
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Look at the picture and
answer these questions:
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What is the cartoonist trying
to illustrate in this picture?
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Why is Andrew Jackson
standing on the U.S.
Constitution?
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How is President Jackson
violating the philosophy of
separation of powers?
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What is the cartoonist trying
to illustrate in this cartoon?
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Why is it important that the
bald eagle is trying to regain
his position?
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How does this cartoon
represent the belief in
equality under the law?
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Read Montesquieu biography
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Study guide quotes
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Since you’ve been introduced to Baron de Montesquieu
and his main ideas, reword his quotes on the sheet
you’ve been handed out, and rate how much you either
agree or disagree with his statements.
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What does Montesquieu mean by these (put into your
notes)?
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Separation of powers
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Republican government
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Equality under the law
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What do you think about Montesquieu?
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How do you think Montesquieu would respond to the
political cartoon ‘King Andrew the First’? What
problems would he see with this picture?
Would Montesquieu agree with Bill Mauldin in the ‘I
Want My Seat Back’ cartoon? What is the importance
of laws and whom do they protect in this illustration?
Do you agree with Montesquieu’s thoughts about a
republican government? What advantages does he
believe this form of government has over a democracy?
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Translate them into simpler language. 2. Identify which of these concepts
the philosopher was discussing:
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Separation of powers
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Republican government
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Equality under the law
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Inalienable rights
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Equal rights
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Authority from consent of the governed
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State of Nature
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State of War
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Limited Government
Rousseau
Understanding Rousseau’s theories on equal rights, unalienable rights, and
consent to govern
What do you see in this
picture?
What message do you
think the artist wants you
take away from this
painting?
Do you believe that people
receive equal treatment
before the law? Why or
why not?
What is happening in
this picture?
What does the
placement of the U.S.
flag indicate?
Who has a right to claim
the moon?
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Rousseau biography
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Study guide quotes
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Since you’ve been introduced to Rousseau and his
main ideas, reword his quotes on the sheet you’ve been
handed out, and rate how much you either agree or
disagree with his statements.
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What does Rousseau mean by these (put into your
notes)?
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Inalienable rights
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Equal rights
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Authority from consent of the governed
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What do you think about Rousseau?
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How do you think Rousseau would respond to the
painting by George Giusti?
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Would Rousseau understand and feel the same way as
Margaret Walker?
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Is there a relationship between any of the quotations
from the study guide on Rousseau used in this lesson
and the painting and photograph studied above?
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Does the U.S. government function under a social
contract? Do citizens have ways of making the
government accountable to them? How?
Thomas Hobbes
A lesson in the principles of limited government, state of nature, and state of
war
 What image is the artist portraying in this picture?
 Whose rights are being violated and why?
 Who is responsible for the “trail of tears”?
 What is the relationship between the “trail of tears” and
the idea of limited government?
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Hobbes biography
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Study guide quotes
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Questions to
consider:
What event in
history in does this
image portray?
Do you believe that
this picture
represents a man in
a state of nature?
Why or why not?
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Questions to
consider:
What is the conflict
represented in this
picture?
Do you believe the
fighting between
the Israeli’s and
the Palestinians
illustrates a state of
war?
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What does Hobbes mean by these (put into your notes)?
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State of Nature
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State of War
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Limited Government
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What do you think about Hobbes?
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Is our government limited or unlimited? Does this painting
illustrate a belief in limited government?
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How do you think Hobbes would respond to the painting The Trail
of Tears? Is justice being “equally administered to all degrees of
people” as he thought government should do?
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Do you agree that without government, humans would naturally be
in a state of war? Is government a necessary element for society?
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Locke believed that in a state of nature “no one ought to harm
another in his life, health, or possessions”. In other words, he had
a positive view of human nature. Compare this view of nature to
that of Hobbes. How do these men illustrate contrasting views of
human nature? Who do you believe is right in their view?
John Locke
Learning about Locke's theories on limited government, unalienable rights,
equal rights, and the consent of the governed
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Locke biography
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Use the information you just read to answer the following
questions in your notes
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1. What are 3 of John Locke’s beliefs about
government?
2. What U.S. document(s) are based on the idea of
Locke?
3. How can Locke’s influence be seen in this
document?
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Explain what you think these concepts mean (put into
your notes):
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1. Consent of the governed
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2. Natural rights
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3. State of nature
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4. Inalienable rights
Norman Rockwell’s The Problem We All Live With
What is happening in this painting?
Which principles of democracy are illustrated by this painting? (Equality?
Natural rights? Liberty? Inalienable rights?) Explain.
Dave Cutler’s Flag With Male Symbol
What is happening in this painting?
Which principles of democracy are illustrated by this painting? (Equality?
Natural rights? Liberty? Inalienable rights?) Explain.
Tiananmen Square, 1989
What is happening in this photo?
How does this relate to limited government?
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Look at the excerpts from Lockes writings.
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Answer the questions for your section of the Second
Treatise
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Reduce your section into 4 bullet points on the back
of your sheet
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Share your answers, and bullets, with the rest of your
group
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What do you think about Locke?
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How do you think John Locke would respond to Norman
Rockwell’s painting? Dave Cutler’s?
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How would John Locke respond to the events in
Tiananmen Square?
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Are all rights equal or are some more important than
others?
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How do we balance a limited government with the
protection of equal rights?
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The different philosophers discussed all influenced the
founding of the US which based democracy off of it
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Lead to the basic form of democracy (equality, freedom,
order) at the beginning by providing 5 things:
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Equality in voting
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Effective participation
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Enlightened understanding
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Citizen control of the agenda
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Inclusion
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Theory is that American democracy is now one of three
different things
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Pluralist
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Policymaking process is very open to the public,
including to organizations and groups with shared
interest
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No one group controls the policymaking process
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Because of this, the public interest prevails
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Elitist
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There is an upper class elite that holds power and
makes policy
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Society is divided along class lines
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Can be outside of a formal governmental
organization
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These elites do not influence policymakers, they are
the policymakers
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Belief is that who the president is does not matter,
corporate giants hold the power
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Hyperpluralist
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American democracy has groups that are so strong
that government is weakened
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The influences on the policymaking process of the
government are so strong and too numerous to be
controlled
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These groups use the fragmented policymaking
process to their advantage
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No clear policy can be made because the politicians
yield to too many outside interests
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Is democracy the only thing out there?
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Socialism
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Based on Marxist theory
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Government extends into ownership or control of the
basic industries that produce goods and services
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Unlike communism, it still allows for private industry
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Most socialist countries today are democratic
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Give civil liberties and citizens to determine the
extent of the governments activities
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Done through elections and political parties
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Libertarianism
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Opposes all government action except that which is
necessary to protect life and property
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Believe that the government is necessary for basic
protection of life and property
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Example: Traffic laws = good. Helmet laws = bad.
Social programs providing food, clothing, shelter =
bad. Giving out of individual choice = good.
Government regulation of the economy = bad.
Laissez faire = good.
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Anarchism
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Opposes government of any sort
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Values absolute freedom with no laws or central
powers whatsoever
What the government is to do is based on your personal
belief (ideology) of what the government should do. Or,
should not do.
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Politics
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Part of democratic government is politics
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“Who gets what, when, and how”
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Media focuses on the who
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The what is the substance of the government
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How refers to the ways that people participate in
politics
People:
Interests,
problems,
concerns
The Policymaking System
Linkage
Institutions:
Parties,
elections, media,
interest groups
Policy
Agenda:
Political
issues
People:
Impacts of
policies
Policy:
Expenditures,
taxes, laws,
regulations,
non decisions
Policymaking
Institutions:
Legislature,
Executive,
Courts,
bureaucracy
Building on Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, Montesquieu to
understand the principles of government and law in the
United States today
First: transcribe
the text you see in
the picture. What
is this?
Which European
thinkers do you think
influenced this?
(think back to Locke,
Hobbs, Rousseau
and Montesquieu)
What are some of the
key concepts of these
men that you see in
here?
Primary Document Activity
Now you should have copies of the Virginia
Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the
U.S. Constitution. Using what you have learned in past
lessons abut Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, Blackstone and
Montesquieu work in groups of 4 to identify key points
in the text that correlate to a specific theorist and their
theory.
Be prepared to discuss your group findings with the
class at the end of the activity
The Virginia Constitution
 What parts of the text do you think are good examples of
theories from Locke? Rousseau? Hobbs? Blackstone?
Montesquieu? Explain.
The Declaration of Independence
 What parts of the text do you think are good examples of
theories from Locke? Rousseau? Hobbs? Blackstone?
Montesquieu? Explain.
The U.S. Constitution
 What parts of the text do you think are good examples of
theories from Locke? Rousseau? Hobbs? Blackstone?
Montesquieu? Explain.