Lesson 1-4 Unit Test

Judeo-Christian

Ideas, beliefs, and practices that have their historical roots in Judaism and Christianity.

Forms of Government

1) Aristotle's idea based on the number of people exercising power. Each has a "right" form and a "corrupt" form. The right form of government by a single person is a "monarchy." The right form of government by a few people is an "aristocracy." And the right form of government by many people is called "polity." (2) Types of democratic governments. For example, parliamentary systems, such as those of Britain and India; separation of powers systems, such as that of the United States; and presidential systems, such as that of France. (3) Generally, such as monarchies, republics, and autocracies.

Martin Luther

A German monk and theologian considered to be founder of Protestantism, he argued that the Bible, not the pope, was the source of all religious authority and that individuals can attain salvation through faith alone, unmediated by the church. He translated the Bible into vernacular German, making it accessible to laypeople. He also wrote hymns that developed the tradition of congregational singing and set the pattern for Protestant clerical marriage.

Constitution

A plan of government that sets forth the structures and powers of government.

Constitution

A plan of government that sets forth the structures and powers of government. In democracies, an authoritative law through which the sovereign people authorize a government to be established and grant it certain powers.

Which of the following statements describes a constitution?

A plan that sets forth the structure and powers of government

city-state

A politically independent community consisting of a city and its surrounding territory.

Feudalism

A system of social, economic, and political organization in Europe from the ninth to about the fifteenth century in which a politically weak monarch shared power with the nobility. The nobility required work and services from the common people, known as serfs, in return for allowing them to live on and make use of the noble's land and benefit from the noble's protection.

political legitimacy

Acceptance by the governed that the claim to authority by those who govern is justified. In democratic societies, legitimacy is achieved only when those who govern gain power through the free consent of the governed in free and fair elections.

Republic

According to James Madison, a form of government that derives its powers directly or indirectly from the people, is administered by officials holding power for a limited time, and incorporates representative institutions.

consent of the governed

Agreement by citizens to obey the laws and the government they create. Consent is the foundation of government's legitimacy.

pursuit of happiness

An "unalienable" right stated in the Declaration of Independence. It is the right of Americans to pursue personal fulfillment in their own way, so long as they do not infringe on the rights of others.Within certain limits, this right denies the legitimacy of government to decide what kind of happiness one ought to seek.

Capitalism

An economic system in which the means of producing and distributing goods are privately owned and operated for profit in competitive markets.

private morality

An individual's ideas about right and wrong to be practiced in one's personal life. These are derived from religious, philosophical, familial, and other sources, including individual conscience.

nation-state

As currently used, a country; the standard unit of political organization in the world. The nation-state received its name from the idea of a people, or "nation," organizing itself politically for self-rule. Many countries today, however, are composed of two or more distinct peoples.

Inalienable Rights

Fundamental rights inherent to being human that every person therefore possesses that cannot be taken away by government or another entity. This phrase was used in the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Declaration of Independence.

Limited Government

In natural rights philosophy, a system restricted to protecting natural rights that does not interfere with other aspects of life. More generally, constitutional government governed by the rule of law. Written or unwritten constitutions are used to empower and limit government.

Constitutional democracy

Limited government; the rule of law. A form of government in which a written, unwritten, or partly written constitution serves as a higher or fundamental law that everyone, including those in power, must obey. An essential feature of constitutional government.

Democracy

Literally defined as "rule of the people," a form of government in which all citizens exercise political power, either directly or through their elected representatives.

Social Contract Theory

Presumption of an imaginary or actual agreement among people to set up a government and obey its laws. The theory was developed by the English natural rights philosopher John Locke, among others, to explain the origin of legitimate government.

Parliament

The British legislature, which consists of two houses: the House of Lords, which once represented the nobility, and the House of Commons, which formally represents the common people. Most members of the House of Lords are appointed for life by the government of the day and are not members of the hereditary aristocracy, who once dominated it.

Unwritten Constitution

The body of political practices developed through custom and tradition. Only three of the world's major democracies have constitutions that are not single, written documents: Britain, Israel, and New Zealand. In each of these nations, the constitution is a combination of written laws and precedents.

State of Nature

The condition of people living in a situation without government; anarchy. Natural rights philosophy inquired about what rights, moral rules, or laws applied in such circumstances and what rights, if any, people retained after agreeing to leave the state of nature to form a politically organized society or state.

civic virtue

The dedication of citizens to the common welfare of their community or country, even at the cost of their individual interests. Traditionally considered most relevant to republics, since republican citizens are responsible for the well-being of their country.

Natural Rights

The doctrine that people have basic rights, such as those to life, liberty, and property in a state of nature. Some writers, especially those influencing the American Founders, argued that certain of these rights are inalienable-inherent in being human-and that people create governments to protect those rights.

Common good

The good of the community as a whole, as contrasted with private interests that may conflict with public interest. Also known as the public good.

Divine right

The idea prevalent in early modern Europe that monarchs derive their authority directly from God. Adherents to this doctrine claimed that to disobey such monarchs, to attempt to replace them, or to limit their powers is contrary to the will of God. Also known as the divine right of kings.

Classical Republicanism

The ideals and practices of ancient Greek or Roman city-states that emphasized civic participation and the responsibility of citizens for the well-being of their polity, or country. Acts by citizens that placed the public good, or common welfare, above private interest were especially prized.

Popular Sovereignty

The natural rights concept that ultimate political authority rests with the people.

Right of Revolution

The right of the sovereign people of any democratic state or regime to depose a government after it has attacked citizens' basic rights for a significant period of time. This right, espoused by English philosopher John Locke, was asserted in the Declaration of Independence to justify separation from Britain and the overturning of the authority of King George III.

Elizabeth I

The third monarch to follow Henry VIII, she was his daughter and re-established the Protestant church in England after her half-sister Mary had taken the kingdom back to Catholicism. She was a long-lived and immensely popular monarch, who sought and took advice to make England one of the most prosperous and powerful countries in the world. Science and culture also flourished during her reign.

public morality

The values and principles of right and wrong pertaining to public policies and actions.

The purpose of a writ of habeas corpus is to protect the individual against

Unlawful detention

John Calvin

a French Protestant theologian who also trained as lawyer. He was a devout Catholic before converting to Protestantism sometime between 1528 and 1533. He published Institution Christianae Religionis in 1536 as an introductory textbook of Protestant faith. He attacked the teachings of Roman Catholicism.

Thomas Hobbes

a philosopher of materialism, fled to France during English civil war, where he wrote Leviathan. This book argued that humans without government live in a "state of nature," which is a "state of war" of against all. Life in such conditions is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Thus in a state of nature all fear violent death, and violent death is what people fear most. To avoid violent death, they agree to set up a state with strict authority and the power to protect life. People agree to leave this state of nature through "social contract" and to give all power to the Leviathan state, which He characterized as a "mortal god." He was accused of atheism for the views he expressed in Leviathan, where He pilloried various theological ideas. The English Parliament asserted that Leviathan helped cause the plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of 1666. The book was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Catholic Church because it undermined the theory of divine right of kings.

John Locke

a physician and philosopher, worked with famous scientists, including Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke. In contrast to Hobbes, he used state of nature and social contract theory to justify limited government and the preservation of individual rights, particularly life, liberty, and property. He is sometimes called "America's philosopher" because his Second Treatise of Government (1690) was widely read by the colonists and important ideas found in it (as well as in works of English republican writers) are found in the Declaration of Independence, especially his theories of natural rights and his defense of violent revolution after "a long train of abuses" of power by rulers. Two verbatim phrases of his are found in the Declaration.

The Enlightenment inspired America's Founders by

emphasizing what could be achieved through the exercise of human reason

The Magna Carta included the important constitutional principle that established

government based on the rule of law

According to the natural rights philosophy, the main purpose of government is to

protect individual rights

Civic virtue is best defined as

putting the common good above individual interests

In comparison with the Greek and Roman ideals of civic virtue, the Judeo-Christian tradition

stresses the dignity and worth of each individual