SO WHAT IS GOVERNMENT?

1. SO WHAT IS GOVERNMENT? • The institutions and processes through which public policies are made for a society • Policies = Actions by the government AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

2. WHAT ARE INSTITUTIONS OF U.S. GOVERNMENT? • * Congress • * President • * Courts • * Bureaucracy AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

3. SOME COMMON VIEWS OF U.S. GOVERNMENT • That government is best • that governs the least . . . • because its people • discipline themselves. • ~ Thomas Jefferson • Founding Father, President AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

4. SOME COMMON VIEWS OF U.S. GOVERNMENT • Government is not the solution • to our problems, • government is the problem. • ~ Ronald Reagan • Conservative Hero, President AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

5. SOME COMMON VIEWS OF U.S. GOVERNMENT • Our goal is to shrink the • government to the size • where we can . . . • drown it in a bathtub. • ~ Grover Norquist • Influential Conservative AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

6. SOME COMMON VIEWS OF U.S. GOVERNMENT • The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people . . . • and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government. AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

7. SOME COMMON VIEWS OF U.S. GOVERNMENT • ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt • Savior or Devil, President AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

8. TWO FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS • How should we govern? • * Related Questions: • Who should hold power? • Who should have influence? • What should the government do? AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

9. WHAT SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT DO? • * Defend the nation • * Preserve stability & order • * Provide certain goods & services • Key Debates: How? What? AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

10. WHAT MUST THE GOVERNMENT DO? • In order to accomplish the “shoulds”, it must • COLLECT TAXES • “There ain’t no such thing • as a free lunch” AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

11. COMMENTS ON TAXES • Taxes are what we pay • for a civilized society. • ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes • Supreme Court Justice AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

12. COMMENTS ON TAXES • The power of taxing people • and their property • is essential to the very • existence of government. • ~ James Madison • Founding Father, President AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

13. AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

14. POLITICS • Process by which we select our governmental leaders • and influence the policies • these leaders pursue. AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

15. POLITICS: NOTABLE QUOTE • The best argument against democracy • is a five minute conversation • with the average voter. • ~ Winston Churchill • British Statesman AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

16. POLITICS • Key Questions: • * Who serves as leaders? • * Who selects them? • * What do they do once in office? • * Why? AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

17. POLITICS: NOTABLE QUOTE • Politics is about • who gets what • when • and how. • ~ Harold Lasswell • Yale Political Scientist AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

18. POLITICS: CURRENT EVENTS • Politics is the art • of the possible. • ~ Otto von Bismarck • German Statesman AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

19. AMERICAN POLITICAL CULTURE • The United States is a country • organized around an ideology • which includes a set of • dogmas about the nature • of a Good Society. • ~ Seymour Martin Lipset • Stanford Political Sociologist AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

20. FIVE ELEMENTS OF THE “AMERICAN CREED” • Liberty • Give me Liberty • or give me Death! • ~ Patrick Henry • Revolutionary Leader AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

21. FIVE ELEMENTS OF THE “AMERICAN CREED” • (2) Egalitarianism • All Men are Created Equal. AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

22. FIVE ELEMENTS OF THE “AMERICAN CREED” • (3) Individualism • You’re on your own. • And you know what you know. • And YOU are the one who’ll decide • where to go! AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

23. FIVE ELEMENTS OF THE “AMERICAN CREED” • (4) Laissez-Faire • Let it Do • . . . Let it Be • . . . Leave it Alone AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction

24. FIVE ELEMENTS OF THE “AMERICAN CREED” • (5) Populism • Government of the People, • by the People, • and for the People. • ~ Abraham Lincoln • President AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction