#1: CIVICS 101: On Democracy And Its American Interpretation
Q&A #1: What is the purpose of the U.S. Government?
Our American Government
Our American Government is a small book published by the House of Representatives for citizens and those who seek a greater understanding of the American interpretation of democracy. It follows a question-and-answer format and covers a broad range of topics dealing with the three branches of our Government, the electoral process, and the role of political parties.
The Savvy Citizen is reproducing the 169 questions-and-answers through a series of posts called Civics 101. Each post will contain the Q&A as well as some additional commentary to add historical context, fun facts, or anything we believe will add to our collective understanding of these topics.
Think of it as your adult Civics class, but without the test!
Let’s get started.
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SECTION: Democracy And Its American Interpretation
Q&A #1: What is the purpose of the U.S. Government?
The purpose is expressed in the preamble to the Constitution:
‘‘We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.’’
My Thoughts …
When I read the Preamble, two things come to mind:
(1) The preamble establishes with crystal clarity that the people, not the monarch, or other self-appointed dictator, are in charge. This is an experiment in self-government, a completely foreign concept at the time; it was truly revolutionary.
(2) More than describing the purpose of the American Government, the Preamble tells us how We, the People can and should effect that purpose. From the outset, we have a mandate to build America ourselves as doers, not receivers. We are told to go and establish, insure, provide, promote, secure, and ordain and establish (again). The Preamble is full of vitality and action, not complacency and inaction.
Finally, remember that the Constitutional Convention was held in 1787, some 11 years after the Declaration of Independence of 1776 and and upon the heels of the failure of the Articles of Confederation adopted in 1777, America’s “first’ Constitution. The framers had years of experience under their belt.
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Back tomorrow with Q&A #2: What form of government do we have in the United States?
xo,
Kelley for the Savvy Citizen Team
October 7, 2024