American Government - Unit 1 Test
John Locke is sometimes called
"America's philosopher"
What impact did the experience of the American Revolution have on American Constitutionalism?
-Freedom of Speech and Assembly -Trial by jury -Security from illegal search and seizure of property -protection from military rule
Three IMPORTANT Historical Documents
-Magna Carta (1215) -Petition of Rights (1628) -English Bill of Rights (1689)
Procedural Guarantees of Due Process
-Rights to counsel and trial by jury -Protections from illegal search and seizures -Protections from forced self-incrimination, excessive bail and fines, and cruel and unusual punishment
Many of the first state constitutions included
Bill of Rights
Natural Rights
Life, Liberty, and Property; cannot be given up or taken away
Copernicus
Polish astronomer and mathematician, advocated the view that Earth rotates on an axis and makes a yearly revolution around a stationary sun; a scientific revolution was started; rejected by the Catholic Church
"No Taxation Without
Representation"
Which of the following statements describes a constitution?
a plan set forth the structure and powers of government
Reformation
a time period of Church reform
Adam Smith
an inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
Popular Sovereignty
authority to govern was delegated to the government by the sovereign people, the idea that political power is derived from the people
To say that rights to life, liberty and property are unalienable means that they
cannot be given up or taken away
Martin Luther
considered to be the founder of Protestantism; argued that the Bible was the source of all religious authority not the Pope
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
Due Process of the Law
government must follow procedures and laws to take action against those governed
Renaissance
means rebirth
Rule of Law
must obey the laws of the land (constitution, laws of congress)
Civic Virtue
personal interest set aside to promote the common good. Today this is also called "public spiritedness"; putting the common good ahead of individual interests
The idea that political power is derived from the people is called
popular sovereignty
Classical Republican
promoted the common good over individual
In colonial America, the right to vote most often depended on a person's gender and
property ownership
According to natural rights philosophy, the main purpose of government is to
protect individual rights
Civic virtues is best defined as
putting the common good above individual interests
Natural Rights Philosophy-
rights of the individual (life, liberty, property)
Individual rights
rights regardless of wealth, social status or birth
Democracy
rule by common people
Henry VIII
severed the Church of England from the Roman Catholic church
In comparison with the Greek and Roman ideals of civic virtues, the Judeo-Christian tradition
stresses the dignity and worth of each individual
The Declaration of Independence asserted that
the colonies were now free and independent states
Government should be based on
the rule of law; man should only be judged by the law of the land
People form a society and create a government to protect
their rights
Elizabeth I
third monarch to follow Henry VIII, she was his daughter and reestablished the Protestant church in England
All classical philosophers agreed that one purpose of the government is
to help people learn about and perform their civic and moral duties
The purpose of a writ of habeas corpus is to protest the individual against
unlawful detention
