What is Government? Lesson

Photograph of a statue of Abraham Lincoln Do you believe in government "by the people, for the people, and of the people"? There are very few Americans today that would say no, especially since these words were spoken by Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address and embedded in the American political system.

A government is a system designed to control a state or community. Governments are made up of elected or appointed officials and the individuals who carry out the day-to-day operations of our nation such as postal workers, military servicemen and women, judges, and police officers. The main components of a government are power and policy. Power refers to the authority the government has to make laws, carry out and enforce laws, and interpret laws (help comprehend the words or meaning stated in the law). Governments also have the power to implement policy (place into effect). A policy is a system of principles or goals adopted in order to achieve a desired outcome. Laws, government programs, and taxes are all types of policies that concern the government.

Photograph of the U.S. Capitol building

The Purpose of Government

The purpose of government is to maintain social order, provide public services, provide national security, and make economic decisions all in the best interest of the citizens.

The ideas of government originated with the purpose of protecting people from battle and conflict and with the need to establish laws and order within a given area where people lived close together. People discovered that it was safer if they stayed together in a group. They agreed that some people in the group should have more power or authority than others.

A country not only needs to protect its citizens from one another but also needs to provide protection from outside attacks. Over thousands of years, countries have safeguarded its citizens by building walls (the Great Wall of China), moving their citizens to safe places across mountain ranges and rivers, creating armies, and most recently, providing special armed groups that prevent against attacks (Navy SEALs). In more modern times, governments have formed alliances with other governments during times of war (Triple Alliance and Triple Entente during World War 1). These alliances served as protection from outside countries who wished to take over or attack a fellow ally.

Poster from the 1930s advertising Social Security The government has extended its responsibilities to the economy and public services. In 1929, the United States entered the Great Depression. The United States government, under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, stepped in to help the economy and the citizens. Congress created the Federal Reserve System to lower inflation in an attempt to control the value of the dollar, and Roosevelt created the New Deal, which included government recovery programs to help the unemployed and poor. Later, Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society programs were created to eliminate poverty nationwide.

The influence of government has been one of the most controversial topics of all time. Americans have criticized these government-run programs as expensive ventures that destroy the individual's sense of responsibility for their own being. So, the debate over the proper role of government providing for the general welfare of the citizens is still alive and well today.

Although the responsibilities of government are debatable, governments provide the parameters for everyday behavior, protect from outside interference, and often provide for the well-being and happiness of the citizens.

Purpose of Government

Maintain Social Order - Governments make and enforce laws; governments collect taxes and maintain armies; governments provide court systems or other ways of settling disputes. All of this is supposed to provide law and order.
Provide Public Services - Governments build roads and infrastructure; they provide guidelines for clean water, food, and medications; governments build sewer systems and provide certain welfare services for their citizens.
Provide National Security - governments maintain military forces.
Make Economic Decisions - Governments make decisions about taxes, industry, and how resources will be distributed, etc.
Resolve Conflict - Governments make decisions and resolve disputes through a legal system. Politics play a significant role in the decision-making process.

Use the presentation below to learn more about how the government is organized.

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