1.1: Ideals of Democracy

Limited Government

A principle that restricts governmental power to protect individual rights, influenced by Enlightenment thinkers.

Natural Rights

The concept that individuals are born with certain unalienable rights that cannot be taken away, as proposed by John Locke and Thomas Hobbes.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that the authority of the government is created and sustained by the consent of its people, reflecting the social contract theory.

Social Contract

A theory that individuals consent to form a government to protect their rights, as discussed by Rousseau.

Republicanism

A political ideology where citizens elect representatives to create laws and govern on their behalf, emphasizing the common good.

Montesquieu

An Enlightenment thinker who advocated for the separation of powers and the establishment of a representative government in his work "The Spirit of Laws."

Separation of Powers

A constitutional principle that divides government responsibilities into distinct branches to prevent any one group from gaining too much power.

Representative Republic

A form of government established by the framers where elected officials legislate on behalf of the people, avoiding the pitfalls of pure democracy.

Mob Rule

A potential outcome of pure democracy where majority opinion can override individual rights and lead to chaos.

James Madison

A key figure in drafting the U.S. Constitution, who helped lay the foundations of republicanism in the United States.