American Government Textbook
U.S. History.org American Government - downloadable version
Since the advent of civilization, humans have had an impulse to form governments. It is an experiment thousands of years in the making.
This course asks a lot of fundamental questions about the nature of government and society. Among them:
- What is the purpose of government?
- What types of governments are there? What is a democracy?
- Where is the center of governmental power? Is it national or local?
- Is America's government too big? Too small? Constantly shifting with the times?
- What are the rights and responsibilities of each American citizen?
We do not answer these questions; that is up to you. Defining the role of government has been thousands of years in the making. Welcome to the laboratory of democracy.
Online version: American Government Textbook | US History.org, Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia
This work by The Independence Hall Association is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.