introduction ap u.s. government & politics - introduction summer is over!
TRANSCRIPT
U.S. Government
The institutions and processes through which public policies are made for a society
Policies =
Actions taken by the government
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
Government
Institutions include:
* Congress
* President
* Courts
* Bureaucracy
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
Some Common Views
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
That government is best that governs the least . . .
because its people discipline themselves.
~ Thomas Jefferson
Founding Father, President
Some Common Views
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
Government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem.
~ Ronald Reagan
Conservative Hero, President
Some Common Views
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
Our goal is to shrink the government to the size where we can . . .
drown it in a bathtub.
~ Grover Norquist
Influential Conservative
Some Common Views
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
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.
Some Common Views
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
Savior or Devil, President
Two Fundamental Questions
1. How should we govern?
Related: Who should hold power?
Who should have influence?
2. What should the government do?
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
Basic Functions of Gov’t.
* National defense
* Preserve order
* Provide public goods & services
* Socialize the young
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
Basic Functions of Gov’t.
* Collect TAXES
* To pay for Defense, Order, Goods &
Services, and Education
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
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
Comments on Taxes
Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society.
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes
Supreme Court Justice
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
Politics
Process by which we select our governmental leaders
and influence the policies these leaders pursue
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
Politics: Key Questions
* Who serves as leaders?
* Who selects them?
Notable Quote:
The best argument against democracy is a
five minute conversation with the average voter.
~ Winston Churchill
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
Politics: Key Questions
* Who serves as leaders?
* Who selects them?
* What do they do?
* Why?
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
Politics
Politics is about who gets what, when, and how.
~ Harold Lasswell
Yale Political Scientist
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
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
American Political Culture
Five Elements of the “American Creed” *
1. Liberty
Give me liberty or give me death.
. . . life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
* according to Lipset
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
American Political Culture
Five Elements of the “American Creed”
2. Egalitarianism
All men are created equal.
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
American Political Culture
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
American Political Culture
Five Elements of the “American Creed”
4. Laissez-Faire
“Let Do”
. . . Let it be
. . . Leave it alone
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
American Political Culture
Five Elements of the “American Creed”
5. Populism
Government of the people,
for the people,
and by the people.
~ Abe Lincoln
President
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
Dialectics
Tension or opposition between two interacting forces or elements:
~ Individualism v. Community
~ Private interest v. Public purpose
~ Private action v. Public action
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction
Dialectics
Tension or opposition between two interacting forces or elements:
~ Rich v. Poor
~ Men v. Women
~ “Whites” v. “Non-Whites”
~ Educated v. Non-Educated
AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Introduction