decided to cross the ocean and to build new homes in America. They hoped to be free there. The early groups of people who came to America were different in many ways. For example, they wore different kinds of clothes. They spoke different languages, They had different ways of worshipping God. The Roman Catholics in Maryland had one form of worship. The Pilgrims in Massachusetts had another form. And the Quakers in Pennsylvania had still another form of worship. But the groups were like one another in many ways. For example, all of the groups believed in God although they used different prayers. All of the groups had come to America for a purpose. Each group gave authority to a few men to make rules or laws for the group. The people in each group chose other men to enforce the laws of the group. The groups soon learned to live better by helping each other. Small groups came together in towns and built walls to keep out unfriendly Indians. They learned to help each other still more by making their groups larger. OUR FIRST GROUPS All of the people living in the United States form one Nation. But every person in the Nation is a member of many smaller groups. We may not stop to think about it often, but we live, play, and work in groups. The first group we know is the family. We were born into that group. We obey the rules which govern it. Each member has a chance to help and to be happy. There are millions of family groups in America. We depend on them to help teach the children of the Nation to be good citizens. V As we grow older we join neighborhood and work ✓ groups. Some examples of work groups are farmers, ministers, policemen, soldiers, doctors, and teachers. Every person who works belongs to some work group. Most persons want to know the best way of living and the true meaning of life. They join different church groups. In the church groups, they learn to think about right and wrong. They learn the laws made by God. The church groups help us to save our souls, to understand one another, and to live together in peace. GOVERNMENT GROUPS The family, neighborhood, work, and church groups can- ✓ not satisfy all our needs. We want our neighborhood to have a good name. We want our streets repaired, lighted, and kept clean. We want to be protected against crimes and fires. We want pure water and pure food. Other neighborhoods want the same things. We unite to set up a city or town group to supply the services. In this way we are able to get the services that we want. But even our town or city is not able to satisfy every need. We want to visit our friends in other cities and countries. We want good roads; yet some of the roads are outside of our city or town. We want to protect our town from diseases in other towns. But we must have help. If we are to satisfy many of our needs, we must join a larger or State group. Our State group cannot supply some of the services that we demand. We want to write to friends in other States and countries. We want someone to carry the mail. Some of our food comes from other States. We want to know that the food is pure. Our State group, therefore, unites with other State groups to form a Nation group which supplies these and other services. GROUPS ARE LIKE ONE ANOTHER Let us study our different groups carefully. We shall find that they are like one another in many ways. First, we find that they are formed because the people want to do something together. The thing that they want to do is called the purpose. Each group has a purpose. One purpose of a city group is to make certain that the people have pure water. Our other government groups have other purposes-to do something for the people. The purpose of V V government in a democracy is to do the greatest good for the greatest number of the people. Second, we find that in every group some person or persons must have authority to carry out the purposes of the group. Some person or persons must have the power to decide many things for the groups. In some groups, all the members plan the necessary things. The members have the final authority. In some countries, all the members of the government groups have the final authority. This is very true of government groups in the United States. We call our government a democracy because the final authority belongs to the people. The people may have the "last word." The members of a group often pass along or delegate part of their authority to the officers. They do this in order to get things done more quickly. For example, in our neighborhood schools we give authority to the teachers. Without authority, the teachers cannot give the pupils work to do. Without authority, the policemen cannot order traffic to "stop" and "go." Third, we find that in every group the work is divided up or organized according to a plan. This makes it easier to carry out the purpose of the group. In our school group, for example, the work is divided between the school board, the superintendent, and the teachers. The plan by which each government group does its work is written. The written plan is called a constitution. Of course, the written plan is not the same for all of the government groups. The plan must be different if the purpose is different. Fourth, we find that groups must work together. This is very true of our government groups. Our city must work well with other cities and with the State. The State must work well with its cities. It must work well with other States and with the Nation. Fifth, we find that the groups must agree on the fair and best way of doing things. They must act according to settled rules. We call these rules basic principles. These principles form the foundation of our Government. A building should have a strong foundation. We like to build on rocks. We like to know that the foundation of a building is strong and will last a long time. We want strong foundations for governments, too. A basic principle is a rule which we accept. The basic principles of government, therefore, are accepted rules. We organize our government groups according to these basic principles. We expect all the members of the group to understand these rules. The basic principles must be known. Some of the basic principles of our National Government were written into the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution sets out the purpose and authority of our National Government. It says how the Nation is to work with the States. It tells how the States are to work with one another. SUMMARY We have been thinking together about groups. We have thought about ourselves as members of a family group or circle. This family circle is only one of many circles or groups. These groups grow larger in size as they cooper-v ate with each other. They cooperate to do many things for the people. The larger groups unite with still larger groups or circles to form one great Nation. In each group some person or persons have the chief authority. Each group has its own officers. Each group has a special purpose. Each group divides its work among its members. The groups cooperate well when they understand the basic principles by which they do their work. Many of the basic principles are so simple that we do not often think about them. But the best things in our lives in the United States are built upon these principles and our understanding of them. They are very important to our freedom and to our happiness. We shall study more about them in the next chapters. |