Unit 1 gov vocab

Magna Carta

A 1215 English document that limited the monarch's power and established the principle that everyone, including the king, is subject to the law.

English Bill of Rights

A 1689 English law that guaranteed specific civil rights to citizens and limited the power of the monarchy.

English Petition of Right

A 1628 English document that restricted the king's power by requiring Parliament's consent to raise taxes and prohibiting unlawful imprisonment.

Iroquois Confederacy

A union of Native American nations formed to promote peace, mutual defense, and shared governance using a representative system.

Charters of the Virginia Company of London (1606, 1609, 1612)

Royal documents that established the Jamestown settlement and guaranteed colonists the same basic rights as English citizens.

John Locke

An English philosopher who argued that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and that governments rule by the consent of the governed.

Thomas Hobbes

An English philosopher who believed humans are naturally selfish and need a strong central absolute government to maintain order.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

A French philosopher who believed in direct democracy and that government should express the general will of the people.

Baron de Montesquieu

A French philosopher who proposed dividing government power into three separate branches to prevent tyranny.

Voltaire

A French Enlightenment philosopher who advocated for freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the separation of church and state.

The Great Awakening

A religious revival movement in the 1730s–1740s that emphasized individual faith and challenged traditional religious authority in the American colonies.

Constitution of Virginia

The foundational document created in 1776 that establishes the structure and powers of Virginia's state government.

Declaration of Independence

The 1776 document announcing that the thirteen American colonies were free and independent from Great Britain.

Articles of Confederation

The first government framework of the United States, which created a weak national government with most power kept by the individual states.

Constitution of the United States

The supreme law of the U.S., established in 1787, which creates the structure, powers, and limits of the federal government.

Citizenship

The legal status of being a recognized member of a nation, holding specific rights and duties.

Power, Authority, and Governance

The concepts of having control (power), holding the legitimate right to use that control (authority), and managing society through laws and political institutions (governance).

Democracy

A system of government where supreme political power rests with the people, who rule either directly or through elected representatives.

Democratic Republic

A government where citizens elect representatives to make decisions and govern according to constitutional law.

Virginia Declaration of Rights

A 1776 document written by George Mason that proclaimed inherent natural rights for all people and directly influenced the U.S. Bill of Rights.

Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

A 1786 law drafted by Thomas Jefferson that guaranteed freedom of religion and separated church and state in Virginia.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which protect individual liberties such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press.

Age of Enlightenment

An 18th-century intellectual movement that emphasized reason, individualism, and science over tradition and monarchy.

George Mason

An American Founding Father who wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights and insisted on adding a Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution.

Thomas Jefferson

The primary author of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, who served as the third U.S. President.

James Madison

Known as the "Father of the Constitution" for drafting the U.S. Constitution and writing the U.S. Bill of Rights.

Social Contract Theory

The political concept that individuals agree to submit to state authority in exchange for the protection of their natural rights and order.