Government and the
State
• Guiding Question(s)
What should be the goals of government?
Is government necessary?
What is government and what is its purpose?
• Class Objectives
• SWBAT:
• Recall characteristics of states
and theories of government
• Examine the purposes of
American government
Agenda
1. Warm-up
a) Citizenship
Test
2. Powerpoint
3. Begin HW
Homework
Finish if not
complete:
•
•
Section 1 packet
Citizenship Test
Both due tomorrow
Hey! What do you
know about this
thing called
“the state” …?
OH! Cool…
The State
a body of people,
living in a defined space,
with the power to make and enforce
laws without having to check with
any higher authority,
and with an
organization to do this.
The State
You can tell from the
definition that there are four
key features of a state…
What are they?
Population
Territory
a body of
people,
living in a
defined space,
Sovereignty
Government
with the power to make
and enforce laws without
having to check with any
higher authority,
and with an
organization to do
this.
That’s us!
Population
Definition: People who are the
members or citizens of a state
 The size of the population doesn’t matter
 Population has a big influence on the type of
government chosen by the state:
• Is the population rural or urban?
• What do people do for jobs?
• Do people get along or disagree on
basic issues?
Territory
Definition: the area in which
a state’s rule applies
 A state must have set boundaries, but they
are not always agreed on.
 Boundaries can change in three ways:
• war – people win or lose territory
• negotiation – people agree to trade
territory
• purchase – states can buy territory from
other states
Sovereignty
WAIT!
Where did the word
“SOVEREIGNTY”
come from?
Sovereignty
Don’t worry guys!
Remember
the definition
of “state”?
“Sovereignty”
is just a big
Itword
says,that
“…with
the apower
means
state to
hasmake
and
without
to
theenforce
ability laws
to rule
withinhaving
its
checkborder
with any
higher
authority…”?
as it chooses…
Sovereignty
That’s
SOVEREIGNTY!
Oh! Ok, cool…
Sovereignty
Definition: the ability to rule
absolutely within a given territory
Because of sovereignty…
 states can set their own foreign policy
and agendas.
 states are all equal in theory, but in
reality that isn’t always the case.
Government
Definition: the organization that
makes and enforces the laws
 Government has many roles that
all involve making public policy, but
there are four main ways their
governing affects the public…
Public policy is the
laws and rules that
affect the public!
That’s us!
Government
Definition: the organization that
makes and enforces the laws
 Government has many roles that
all involve making public policy, but
there are four main ways their
governing affects the public…
• Keeping Order
• Protecting the Country
• Providing Services
• Making Economic Decisions
That’s us!
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
Keeping Order
 Making and enforcing
laws is all a part of keeping
order in society
 Structures like the
police force and court
system are in place to
enforce the laws and
settle disputes
Protecting the
Country
 The government is
responsible for defending
the territory of the state
 Security organizations like the Department of
Homeland Security and the Department of
Defense are established to protect citizens
Protecting the
Country
 The government is
responsible for defending
the territory of the state
 Security organizations like the Department of
Homeland Security and the Department of
Defense are established to protect citizens
 Treaties and alliances are formed with other
countries to help keep our citizens safe
Providing Services
 The government is
responsible for providing
basic services…
Libraries
Road Repair
Providing Services
 The government is
responsible for providing
basic services…
 Programs for people who need help:
• help buying food
• welfare
• medical services
 Programs to keep people safe:
• medicine
• food
• buildings
Making Economic
Decisions
 The government makes
decisions every day about
how it spends money
 The government also makes decisions about
how our economy is going to function
 Most public policy set by the government has to
do with how money is spent!!
So by that definition
of state…
…the United States
is just one big
state!
The State
You learned the four key
features of a state…
What are they?
Population
Territory
a body of
people,
living in a
defined space,
Sovereignty
Government
with the power to make
and enforce laws without
having to check with any
higher authority,
and with an
organization to do
this.
Figure It Out!
Oops! I forgot. What four things
does the government do?
ORDER
 Keeps _________
COUNTRY
 Protects the __________
SERVICES
 Provides ___________
ECONOMIC
 Makes___________
decisions
Figure It Out!
Is the United States
just one big state?
 Does it have a population?
YES
NO
 Does it have a territory?
YES
NO
 Does it have sovereignty?
YES
NO
 Does it have government?
YES
NO
Figure It Out!
What about “states” like
Connecticut or Georgia? Are
they states?
 Do they have a population?
YES
NO
 Do they have a territory?
YES
NO
 Do they have sovereignty?
YES
NO
 Do they have government?
YES
NO
They can’t make laws
that go against the U.S.
Constitution…
They have a
higher authority
above them!
THUMBS UP or THUMBS DOWN
If there are less than 30,000
people it can’t be
considered a state.
THUMBS UP or THUMBS DOWN
THUMBS UP or THUMBS DOWN
The boundaries of a
territory can change.
THUMBS UP or THUMBS DOWN
Sovereignty means that you
have to check with
someone above you.
THUMBS UP or THUMBS DOWN
THUMBS UP or THUMBS DOWN
Government only exists to
keep order and provide
security.
THUMBS UP or THUMBS DOWN
The 50 states that make up the
USA are not considered
independent states
internationally.
THUMBS UP or THUMBS DOWN
Great job, kiddos!
Thanks for all
your help!
Origins of the State
• Four Theories:
– Force Theory
– Evolutionary Theory
– Divine Right Theory
– Social Contract Theory
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
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
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
Social Contract Theory
• Significant to the American political
system
– Developed in France in the 17th and 18th
centuries
– The building blocks of democracy
Social Contract
Thomas Hobbes:
“state of nature”
“nasty, brutish,
and short”
only the strongest
survived
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
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
Social Contract Concepts
• Popular Sovereignty
• Limited Government
• Individual Rights