01.01 Natural Rights

What do Americans value as the basic individual or natural rights?

Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness

"When the president does it, that means it is not illegal."—President Richard M. Nixon Which of the following concepts best contradicts this quote?

Rule of law

"In the government of this commonwealth, the legislative department shall never exercise the executive and judicial powers, or either of them. The executive shall never exercise the legislative and judicial powers, or either of them. The judicial shall never exercise the legislative and executive powers, or either of them. To the end it may be a government of laws and not of men."—Massachusetts Constitution, Part the First, Article XXX, 1780 Which two government principles does this quote reflect?

Rule of law, limited government

The highway you see here used to be a two-lane road and did not connect to other highways. Over the years, the highway was expanded and new ramps built to connect to other roads and highways. The changes in this image illustrate how government

builds and maintains highways

Every election in U.S. society reaffirms the principle of

consent of the governed

An example of an important service the government provides to all U.S. citizens is

education

The Constitution divides the U.S. government into three branches that can each stop, or check, actions of the other branches. This division of power is a result of the principle of

limited government

Governments create laws and rules to

prevent chaos

Elections to choose officials to stand for the people's interests in the work of government reflect the principle of

representative government

In 2011, a movement known as Occupy Wall Street began in New York City. The protestors asserted that large corporations had too much influence on government. They blamed this influence for greater financial problems for the majority of Americans, such as the lack of jobs. Which principle do the protestors most likely believe government violated?

representative government

Protection for individual rights in U.S. society reflects the idea that all people have

natural rights

An example of a location that directly shows government in action is a

school