AP Gov terms

Baron de Montesquieu (the spirit of the laws) unit 1.1

• Influential French Philosopher

• Known for his idea on separation of powers.

• Argued political liberty could only be achieved by dividing government powers among the separate branches.

• Montesquieu’s ideas greatly impacted the U.S. constitution and checks and balances.

• Proposed the idea of : Legislative branch, executive branches, and Judicial branches.

John Locke (second treatise of civil gov’t) unit 1.1

• 17th century English Philosopher

• Locke’s work “ Two treatise of gov’t” argues against the divine rights of kings, absolute monarchy, and patriarchal power.

• Natural rights : life, liberty and power

• Social contract

• Argued gov’t only exists by the consent of the governed to protect these rights and citizens would have the right to revolt if the gov’t failed to do so.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (The social Contract ) unit 1.1

• 1712-1778 : Enlightenment Philosopher

• Social Contract : Believed the people enter a contract to form a gov’t. Individuals surrender natural liberties. Believed the gov’t must protect your rights.

Thomas Hobbes (The Leviathan) unit 1.1

• English Philosopher and political theorist

• Believed in absolute sovereign to maintain social order.

• Believed in a strong central gov’t

• Social contract = security and order

• “State of Nature” ; hypothesized that without gov’t humanity would exist in a perpetual state of ‘war of everyone against everyone’

Thomas Jefferson unit 1.1

• American statesmen, diplomat, and founding father. Third president from 1801-1809

• Enlightenment ideals, advocating for reason scientific inquiry, and education essential to democracy.

• Promoted separation of church and state.

• Role in the Declaration of Independence ; List of Grievances,”Life,liberty and pursuit of happiness.” Wrote the preamble and was the main author of the Declaration of Independence.

George Washington unit 1.1

• First U.S. President (1789-1797)

• Commander of continental army, and constitutional convention president.

• Formed a cabinet and set the precedent of serving two terms.

• His address warned against political parties and foreign alliances, for unity and neutralization.

James Madison unit 1.1

• 4th U.S. president (1809-1817) Founding Father

• “ Father of the Constitution” and Bill of Rights

• worked along Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to write the federalist papers.

• Advocated for strong central gov’t.

• Wanted to protect individual liberties.

Alexander Hamilton unit 1.1

• founding father , served as the first secretary of Treasury

• Helped create the financial policies that shaped early american economic parties.

• Founded the federalist party ; strong national gov’t. Opposed to the democratic-republic party.

Natural Law Unit 1.1

• Doctrine

• A higher law

• States that society should be governed by inherent ethical principles found in nature and understood through human reason, rather than just legally enact rules.

• Example : Right to life , protection of murder, and etc.

Limited Government unit 1.1

• Fundamental Principle

• Restricts power and authority of gov’t

• Gov’t restricted by a constitution

• Protection of individual rights

• Rooted in enlightenment ideas

U.S. Constitution unit 1.1

• Foundational document

• Establishes a federal system with separation of powers, check and balances, and federalism.

• There are 27 amendments

• Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution

• Framework for the country

Declaration of Independence unit 1.1

• Foundational document

• “ Break-up letter” to Britain

• Natural rights

• Social contract and popular sovereignty

• Listed their grievances

• Heavily influenced by John Locke

• Fundamental Rights

Popular Sovereignty unit 1.1

• Key Principle in drafting of the constitution.

• Significant in debate over slavery during that time.

• A reason why people should vote.

• Promotes the idea that power should not be concentrated in one individual.

• Popular sovereignty can be challenged when voter suppression or disenfranchisement occurs.

Representative Republic unit 1.1

• Elected officials are responsible for making laws and policies that reflect the will of their constituents.

• Founding fathers of the U.S. established a representative republic as a safeguard against direct democracy which they feared would lead to mob rule.

• Checks and balances to ensure equal power.

• Elections to hold representatives accountable.

Republicanism unit 1.1

• Political Ideology

• Emerged during the renaissance era.

• Framers of the U.S. constitution were heavily influenced by republican ideals.

• Advocated for checks and balances.

• Key to republicanism is popular sovereignty

• Representatives are accountable for their constituents.

John Adams unit 1.1

• Key federalist founder

• Political Philosopher

• First vice president

• Second president (1797-1801)

• Bi-cameral legislative and independent judiciary.

• Leader of the federalist party