Only once since 1975 has government trust broke 50%. That occurred in the months following 9/11. After the tumultuous assassinations of the 1960s, the Vietnam War, the resignation of President Nixon, and the stagflation of the late 1970s, public trust fell from 80% in 1966 to about 25% in 1981. The Watergate scandal, the regularity of hyper-partisanship, the rise of cable news, and the constant parade of government frustrations that contradict the impracticable campaign promises now expected from candidates has seriously undermined faith in the government. Faith in government has consistently fallen in downtimes. Distrust in government increased during the recessions of the mid-1970s, early 1980s, early 1990s and late 2000s. The only recession that did not cause a spike in distrust was the early 2000s, but Thompson asserts that the era of unity and patriotism that followed 9/11 accounts for this anomaly.

Finally, trust in the government is low because many feel the deceit of weapons of mass destruction as...

(NDI). BrainyQuotes.com. Retrieved Septmber 10, 2010, from BrainyQuote.com: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/aristotle134194.html
Preamble to the Constitution of the United States. (1787). The Constitution of the United States. Retrieved September 10, 2010, from http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Preamyble

Thompson, Derek. (2010, April 19). 80% of Americans don't trust government. Here's why. The Atlantic. Retrieved September 11, 2010, from http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/04/80-percent-of-americans-dont-trust-the-government-heres-why/39148/