AMSCO AP Gov Chapter 1 Vocab

Vocab for Chapter 1 of the AMSCO AP Gov book (1.1-1.3)

Thomas Hobbes

In his “Leviathan,” he argued that when humans live in a state of nature, the result is anarchy and war, and human life is “nasty, poor, brutish and short:”

John Locke

In his “Second Treatise of Civil Government,” he wrote that no government can be valid without the consent of the government; indeed, when the government failed to respect such consent, the people had the right to replace it, by force if necessary:

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

In his “Social Contract,” he described the agreement of free and equal people to abandon certain natural rights to find secure protections for society and find freedom as a single body politic committed to the general good; he emphasized the concept of popular sovereignty, or the people as the ultimate ruling authority:

Baron de Montesquieu

In his “Spirit of the Laws,” he argued for the separation of powers into the legislative, executive, and judicial branches:

republicanism

The belief that men are entitled to life, liberty, and property, and that these rights cannot be taken away except through laws created under the consent of the governed:

limited government

A government kept under control by law, checks and balances, and separation of powers:

Thomas Jefferson

He was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence:

James Madison

The Virginia lawyer whose influence in creating the plan for the new American government and stalwart Federalist loyalty earned him the nickname “Father of the Constitution:”

George Washington

The delegates elected him as president of the Constitutional Convention; he presided as a calming force during heated debate, and his presence alone elevated the validity of the endeavor:

Alexander Hamilton

His intellect, drive, and quest to elevate the nation made him instrumental in shaping the new design; he was responsible for most of the Federalist Papers:

Benjamin Franklin

Inventor, diplomat, and elder statesman, he offered his experience as one who had participated in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the Treaty of Paris:

Grand Committee

A committee formed by one delegate from each state at the Convention that was instrumental in resolving conflicts and forging compromises needed for the Constitution to work out:

The Constitution

This plan for government establishes a system of checks and balances among branches and allocates power between federal and state governments; it also is based on the rule of law and the balance between majority rule and minority rights:

representative republic

A collection of sovereign states gathered for the national interest, national needs, and national defense; preferred by the framers since it extended the citizen representation of a democracy to the national level:

natural law

According to Locke, it is the law of God, acknowledged through human sense and reason; under it, people are born free and equal:

representative democracy

A government in which the people entrust elected representatives to represent their concerns:

participatory democracy

A form of representative democracy that requires the direct participation of many, if not most, people in a society, in politics and in public rights; citizens vote directly for laws and other matters that affect them in a system that emphasizes broad involvement of citizens:

pluralist democracy

A form of representative democracy in which people with widely varying interests find others who share their interests and organize into interest groups in an attempt to persuade policymakers at all levels:

elite democracy

A form of representative democracy in which elected representatives (who typically have more resources and influence) dominate politics and act as trustees for their constituents:

Federalists

Those who supported the proposed Constitution, a strong federal government, and full ratification:

Anti-Federalists

Those who opposed the consolidation of the states under a federal government:

initiatives

A modern example of participatory democracy in the US, these give people in most states the power to place measures on the ballot for a popular vote:

referendums

Through these kinds of ballot initiatives, citizens can gather support (usually through petitions) to call for a vote to uphold or overturn an unpopular law passed by the legislature:

faction

Another way of saying interest group, a group of citizens who share some common interest and organize themselves into a body for the purpose of exerting political influence; both Pubilus and Brutus wrote about how best to manage the dangers of these in Federalist No. 10 and Brutus No. 1, respectively:

Federalist No. 10

This essay argued that no plan of government could eliminate factions, but a vast, representative, and pluralistic republic was best equipped to control the “mischiefs of faction:”

Brutus No. 1

This essay cautions readers of the dangers of the large, consolidated government proposed under the Constitution; it also claims that disputes among factions would prevent the government from serving the common good: