政府在国家经济活动中的作用,在美国宪法中无多明示。随着美国经济的发展,资本主义经济制度不断更新,其政府在经济领域中的职能不断扩大和愈加明确,遂成为资本主义社会再生产进行的必要条件。本文拟就美国政府经济职能的发展过程作一论述。文中美国政府概念既包括联邦政府立法、行政和司法三部门,亦包括州、地政府。一自由资本主义时期美国政府的经济职能(1776—19世纪70年代) 从18世纪70年代到19世纪70年代的一百年间,以1812年战争为界,美国经历了商业 The role of the government in the economic activities of the state is not explicitly stated in the U.S. Constitution. With the economic development of the United States, the capitalist economic system has been constantly updated and its government’s functions in the economic field have been constantly expanded and increasingly clear, thus becoming a necessary condition for the reproduction of capitalist society. This article intends to make a comment on the development of the economic functions of the U.S. government. The concept of the U.S. government in this article includes the legislative, administrative and judicial departments of the federal government as well as the state and local governments. The Economic Role of the U.S. Government in a Liberal Capitalist Period (1776-1970s) From the 1870s to the one hundred in the 1870s, the 1812 war bounded the United States in its business