American Gov. Unit 1
What four principles of government are established in the introduction?
1. All men are created equal. 2. All people are endowed by God with inalienable rights, such as life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. 3. Governments are instituted among people to protect these rights, getting their power from the consent of the governed. 4. If governments fail to do these three, then the citizens have the rights to change it or abolish it.
Magna Carta
1215, had three principles: rule of law, basic rights, and government by agreement/ contract
constitutional monarchy
A King or Queen is the official head of state but power is limited by a constitution.
dictatorship
A form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority.
Limited Government
A principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution.
Thomas Hobbes Social Contract Theory
A social contract should exist between the government and the people. In this contract, the people agree to give up some of their rights for protection from the government.
representative democracy
A system of government in which citizens elect representatives, or leaders, to make decisions about the laws for all the people.
absolute monarchy
A system of government in which the head of state is a hereditary position and the king or queen has almost complete power
Checks and Balances
A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power
Separation of Powers
Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law
Petition of Right
Document prepared by Parliament and signed by King Charles I of England in 1628; monarch would not raise taxes without consent from parliament.
Rule of Law
Everyone, including government officials, must follow the law
List of Grievances (Declaration of Independence)
Formal complaints against the King. There were 27.
direct democracy
Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.
Charles Montesquieu's view on the state of nature
In the state of nature individuals were so fearful that they avoided violence and war.
English Bill of Rights
King William and Queen Mary accepted this document in 1689. It guaranteed parliament as the highest in England, over the king and queen. It confirmed the rule of law and confirmed representative government as the only legitimate form of government.
John Locke's view of the state of nature
Natural rights existed in the state of nature and could not be taken away or even voluntarily given up my individuals.
John Locke's theory of natural rights
Natural rights were inalienable, or impossible to surrender.
Principles in the introduction of the Declaration of Independence
Natural rights, human equality, government by consent, "A long train of abuses," right of revolution.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's social contract theory
People would give up all their rights, not to a king, but to "the whole community," all the people.
John Locke's Social Contract Theory
The natural rights of individuals limited the power of the king, and the king did not hold absolute power, but acted only to enforce and protect the natural rights of the people.
Thomas Hobbes' view of the state of nature
There were no laws or anyone to enforce them.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's view of state of nature
To find a way to protect everyone's life, liberty, and property each person remained free
Habeas Corpus
a legal document explaining why a person is being held/imprisoned/taken into custody.
common law
a legal document stating that legal decisions need to be less confusing
anarchy
absence of government
Plebian
an ordinary citizen in the ancient Roman republic
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's ideal government
direct democracy
What type of democracy did Athens have?
direct democracy
theocracy
government run by religious leaders
concent of the governed
governments only have power because people agreed to let them have power.
What type of democracy did the Romans have?
representative democracy
oligarchy
rule by a few
Representative Government
system of government in which public policies are made by officials selected by the voters and held accountable in periodic elections
majority rule
the principle that the greater number should exercise greater power.
sovereignty
the supreme and ultimate power or authority.
Purpose of the Declaration of Independence
to explain to foreign nations why the colonies had chosen to separate themselves from Great Britain
