2025 HUSH Theme 2 Study Guide

What was the Enlightenment?

17th and 18th century European intellectual movement

• started in England and France

• Emphasized LOGIC as central to understanding the world

• Primarily concerned w/ science and mathematics, also dealt with philosophy and political science 

• Its targets: religion superstition, monarchies, etc.

What were the major Enlightenment ideals?

reason, individualism, and natural rights

Enlightenment

17th and 18th century European intellectual movement

Absoloute Monarchy

• dom. Eur. gov’t system

• Characteristics?

  • monarch embodied the state

  • divine right of kings

  • All powers of government in one person

  • state religion

  • mercantilism

Legeslative

make laws

Executive

enforce laws

Judidcal

interpert laws

State of Nature

free and independent

Social contract theory

Consent of Governed

If gov’t violates rights w/ out consent

• you have the right to overthrow after many violations

What was Montesquieu’s idea?

3 powers of goverment must be separated

How was the French and Indian War a turning point?

After winning the war GB became very broke, so they started taxing the colonists so they could earn all the money they lost during the F & I War. 

British colonial policy/legislation

primarily served the interests of the colonizers through economic control, land acquisition, and the regulation of colonial life

What is the order of events that lead up to the Rev war?

1. Stamp Act (1765): tax on published documents 

2. Quartering Act (1765): housing British soldiers

3. Writs of assistance (1767)

4. Boston Massacre (1770)

5. Tea Act (1773): forced colonists to buy only GB tea

6. Boston Tea Party (1773)

7. Intolerable Acts (1774)

8. Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775)

Declaration of Independence

the founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced the separation of the 13 American colonies from Great Britain.

Articles of Confederation

• first form of American government

• fails miserably

• They were designed to preserve state power, lacking an executive branch and the authority to tax or regulate commerce

Shay’s Rebellion

• unpaid vet of AR

• farm is being foreclosed

• other vets rebel against MA

• CC can’t pay shay’s = does not have the power to tax

• Convince the FF to change the government 

How did the Enlightenment influence the American Revolution?

colonial leaders used enlightenment thought and their experiences with GB to create the fire form of gov’t

• American Rev. 1765-1789

• Articles of Confederation - 1718-1789

U.S Constition

1789 - present 

Executive

President and Cabinet 

• enforce laws 

• Comm. in Chief

• Sign Laws

• Nominates for ScotUS

• Has the veto power

Judicial

Supreme Court of the United States

• interpert the law

• judicial review

• 9 SCJs

Legislative

Congress

• write bills

• Tax

• “Power of the Purse”

• Can impeach the president

• Can overrule the president using 2/3 override

• Confirms judicial review 

• H.o.R and the Senate

House of Representives

• Rep. based on population

• 435

EX:

• three fifths compromise

Senate

• 2 senates per state

• 100 senators

• equal represation 

What are checks and balances?

• The veto power

• 2/3 override

• impeachment 

• power of the purse

List the names of President who were trialled for impeachment

1. Andrew Johnson, 1868

2. Bill Clinton, 1998

3. & 4. Donal Trump, 2020

What are some major ScotUS decisions

1896: Plessy v. Ferguson

• segregation = constitutional (up to the state)

1954: Brown v. Board of Education

• Education segreg. = unconstitutional 

1972: Roe v. Wade

• anti-abortion laws = unconstitutional 

  • As of 2023 Roe v. Wade has been overruled

bicameral

two branches or chambers: H.o.R & Senate

three-fifths compromise

an agreement at the 1787 Constitutional Convention to count ____________ of a state's enslaved population toward both its total population for representation in the House of Representatives and for direct taxation purposes

“necessary and proper” (the elastic clause)

gives the federal government flexibility to adapt to new situations

judicial review

used against congress and the president

Federalists

supporters of the U.S. Constitution who advocated for a strong, centralized national government with a separation of powers among three branches

anti-Federalists

a group in U.S. history who opposed the ratification of the Constitution because they feared a powerful central government would infringe on individual liberties and states' rights

• elective king

The Bill of Rights

the first ten ratified amendments to the Constitution

What is the First Amendment?

right to and/or freedom of/from…

• Religion

• Assemble

• Petition

• Press

• Speech

Establishment clause

no state religion

Exercise Clause

practice your religion w/o hurting anyone

Is the First Amendment rights absolute (unlimited)? Explain.

no they’re not because they can not hurt ot endanger the human person

What is the Second Amendment?

right to bare arms

What colonial experience was the Second Amendment related to?

The Battles of Lexington & Concord

What is the Third Amendment?

freedom from being forced to house soilders

What colonial experience was the Third Amendment related to?

The Quartering Act

What is the Fourth Amendment?

unrealible search and seizures (seizing)

Warrant

an official court order authorizing law enforcement to make an arrest or conduct a search. A judge must sign off on this.

Probable Cause

have a reasonable belief that a crime has been committed or that evidence of a crime will be found in a specific place

What is the Fifth Amendment?

Establishes due process of law

• Right to a grand jury

• Right to NOT be tried for the same crime twice (double jeopardy)

• Right to remain slient

• Eminent Domain

Eminent Domain

fair compensation (land)

What are Miranda Rights?

• right to remain silent

• right to an attorney 

What is the Sixth Amendment? 

• Right to a speedy & public trial

• Right to a impartial jury

• Right to be informed of the nature & cause of Accusation

• Right to be provided legal defense if you cannot afford a lawyer

What is the Seventh Amendment?

Citizens sued civilly are entitled to a jury trial

What is the Eighth Amendment?

• Right to not be cruel and unusually punished

• Prohibits torture

• Punishment must fit the crime 

What is the Ninth Amendment?

Just because some rights are written down (Enumerated) does not mean other rights that aren’t written down can be denied 

What is the Tenth Amendment?

If it is not in the U.S. Constution, the states have the power

What are two examples of the Tenth Amendment?

• drivers license

• education systems

• speed limits

Expressed powers

specific authorities, such as the power to tax or declare war, that are explicitly granted to the U.S. federal government by the Constitution

Reserved powers

are governmental powers that are not delegated to the national government and are therefore reserved for state governments or the people

How did American colonial history, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitutional debates shape the American fo\rm of government?

• Colonial experiences led to fear of strong central power.

• Articles of Confederation created a weak national government.

• Problems like Shays’s Rebellion showed the Articles didn’t work.

• Constitution created a stronger federal system with checks and balances.

• Bill of Rights added to protect individual freedoms.