Government and Society

"Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." This stirring quote taken directly from Thomas Paine's Common Sense in essence epitomizes what early Americans thought of the two concepts. That aside, the question remains what relation is there between the government of America and the society of America. It would seem Mr. Paine left the question of how each influence, change, and affect each other unanswered. Of course, in the areas such as the formation of the country itself, the rise of political parties, the establishment of judicial review, and the injustice of slavery the relation is more than clear.

To start, when observing the formation of our country one can clearly see how Americans redirected the role of their government. Prior, the country was ruled by a king across an ocean, but by the means of much fighting and bloodshed, the people of America gained their independence and the ability to replace such tyranny. At which point, the people themselves chose representatives whom then proceeded to draft and ratify our constitution. This newly created government had a new purpose, or a new role to say, to serve its people.

Moving on, the creation of such a government in which people would elect representatives and hence govern themselves would lead to a major, but unintended part of society that remains to this day. That would be political parties. A direct result of our form of government, and perhaps one of society's most divisive and opinionated aspects. Washington himself even urged the founders of the first political parties, Jefferson and Hamilton, not to create them. Of course, there was no stopping it, and till this day political parties such as the Republicans and the Democrats remain a fundamental part of America.

Now, to continue forward, the establishment of judicial review in essence gave the government a new power, or a new role again, that being to abruptly change aspects of society, or reaffirm them, for better or for worse. The issue of who would become Washington D.C.'s justice of the peace over two-hundred years ago may not be overly important. Of course, the Dred Scott decision for example, which ruled unconstitutional any laws that forbid the expansion of slavery into the territories illegal, shows how aspects of the country can be changed so suddenly, and in that example, for the worse.

Finally, many issues regarding slavery relate directly to correlation between government