Freedom of American Society Exam 1

In Freedom, Law, and Rights, which of the following things does Raeder NOT associate with the traditional American definition of freedom?

Positive Freedom

_____________freedom, according to Raeder, is the idea that a person only has freedom when he has been provided certain resources This (is/is not)the traditional American notion of freedom.

Positive; is not

True/False: According to Raeder, if a society is a democracy it is automatically a free society.

False

For Raeder, "inner" freedom is not the traditional American notion of freedom because:

a person can find inner freedom even when he is coerced

True/False: The PBA Free Enterprise Statement celebrates the unique American achievement in "ordered liberty."

True

True/False:The Free Enterprise Statement affirms the "values and institutions" that have traditionally informed American freedom.

True

True/False:The Free Enterprise Statement identifies traditional Judeo-Christian morality as a basis for American freedom.

True

According to Raeder, the "first principle of American political order" is:

That all people have rights

A _________________ is a moral claim we can make against other human beings, including human beings organized as government right

Which of the following is not a characteristic of "rights" in the American tradition?

Natural right

Which of the following is not a characteristic of "rights" in the American tradition?

They are positive

To say that rights are "natural" is to say that they?

are not created by human authority

To say that a person's rights in society are "negative" is to say that:

they are respected when other people do not violate them

If I had a positive right to a new car, that would necessarily mean that other people in society are morally obligated to:

provide me a new car using their money

True/False: The rights recognized by the American Constitution are negative rights, not positive rights

True

Raeder links the traditional American notion of the role of government to the philosophy of __________ and ____________.

John Locke; classical liberalism

The breakdown of feudalism and universal Roman Catholic authority in Europe had the tendency to:

increase the power of kings, who claimed to rule by "divine right."

According to Raeder, what kinds of things must necessarily be spelled out in any contract (including a social contract)?

the nature of each contracting party's rights and obligations

As philosophers, Hobbes and Locke both agreed on the basic idea that:

humans enter into the social contract in order to improve their circumstances.

As philosophers, Hobbes and Locke strongly disagree about:

the extent of governmental power over society

True/False:Locke believed that government is created by people in order to protect certain rights.

True

Locke believed that people have a moral right to resist a government that abuses its authority in serious ways.

True

For Locke, the state of nature refers to a time of human peace, happiness, and certainty.

False

Which of the following best summarizes the traditional scope of government under classical liberalism (i.e., Lockean liberalism)?

Government exists to employ coercion in order to protect each person's rights.

According to the philosopher John Locke, "where there is no _____, there is no freedom."

Law

One characteristic of a "law" in a free society, according to Raeder, is that it is:

negative or prohibitory

4. According to Raeder, ________________ law regulates the government's behavior, while ____________________ law regulates individual behavior.

Public; private

For Raeder, the primary "Old Whig" ideal was that "not even the _________ is above the ." ________

King; law

For Raeder, the "liberal question" involves:

how much power the government will have

For Raeder, the _____________ question concerns who controls or runs the government in a society. If the people run or control the government, this form of government is called ____________.

Democratic; democracy

In the ___________ liberal or traditional view, government's role is limited to protecting basic rights. In the ____________ liberal view government's role extends to improving human beings and their material circumstances.

Classical; modern

A government whose power is limited over society and that is run by the people is known as a/an:

liberal democracy

A government that is administered by the people's elected representatives is known as a/an ______________ democracy. A government that is administered by the people themselves is known as a/an ________________ democracy.

indirect/representative; direct/pure

True/False:Raeder argues that democracy is a means of protecting freedom

True

True/False: Raeder argues that democracy is the end goal of the free society

False

True/False: " Raeder argues that a person can be free under a monarchy.

True

When it comes to taxes ("scutages" or "aids"), the Magna Carta requires:

that taxes must be consented to by a general council

The Magna Carta establishes the principle that a punishment must:

be proportioned to the crime

According to the Magna Carta, "no freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or diseased, or outlawed, or banished, or any ways destroyed, nor will we pass upon him, nor will we send upon him, unless by the lawful judgment of his __________, or by the __________ of the land."

peers; law

True/False: The principle of equality of the law is reinforced by the Magna Carta.

True

True/False: The principle of consent-based taxation is reinforced by the Magna Carta

True

True/False: The principle of a fair trial is reinforced by the Magna Carta.

True

Both the Petition of Right (1628) and the English Bill of Rights (1689) addressed certain abuses of power by kings. Both documents were written by a legislative body in England known as the ___________

parliament

The Petition of Right addressed the abuses of King Charles I. The English Bill of Rights addressed the abuses of his son, King James II. One specific abuse mentioned in both documents was that these kings were:

taxing the people without the consent of Parliament

According to the accusations made in each document, Charles had been _______________, while James had been raising money _________________.

forcing loans; by his own prerogative

True/False: The Petition of Right and the Bill of Rights both accuse the king of stationing soldiers in private homes.

True

True/False: The Petition of Right accuses the king of using martial law rather than the justice system

True

True/False: The Bill of Rights accuses the king of inflicting excessive fines and cruel and unusual punishments

True

True/False: The English Bill of Rights protects the right of the individual to petition the king

True

True/False:The English Bill of Rights protects the right of Parliament to speak and debate freely.

True

True/False: The English Bill of Rights requires the king to enforce the laws enacted by Parliament

True

The English Bill of Rights reinforces the principle that a person who is accused of a crime is____________ until proven guilty. A person must be found guilty by an impartial _____________.

Innocent; guilty

Which of the following was NOT a stated goal of the colony founded by the authors of the Mayflower Compact?

To separate England politically

2. The point of the Mayflower Compact was that the authors pledged to create "a _______ body politick." This body politic would exist in order to frame "such just and equal________"

Cilvil; laws

According to the Mayflower Compact, the point of laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices was that they served "the general ___________ of the colony. To these laws, the signers pledged "all due submission and ______________."

good; obedience

True/False: Most of the English colonies in America developed representative governments.

True

True/False: There was typically more democracy in America than in Great Britain.

True

True/False: Most colonies did not carry out the constitutional and legal customs of Great Britain.

False

Which of the following was NOT a feature of American colonial society and government?

a rigid social class structure

True/False: In the Declaration and Resolves (1774), the Continental Congress claimed that the American colonists had equal rights with the people in England

True

True/False: In the Declaration and Resolves, the Congress complains about internal taxes.

True

True/False: In the Declaration and Resolves, the Congress claims that the Americans' natural rights had been violated.

True

In the Declaration and Resolves, a complaint is made about the taxes imposed "since the close of the last war."

Which of the following best summarizes the complaint?

taxes imposed to raise revenue must be consented to

According to the Declaration of Independence (1776), all men are "created ____________" and are endowed by their Creator with certain "unalienable _________"

equal; rights

Which of the following is NOT asserted in the Declaration of Independence ?

religious freedom is a fundamental right

Both Declarations complain about certain British policies enacted in the "Intolerable Acts" of 1774 (which had been the British response to the Boston Tea Party of 1773).

Given what is said in each document, what is true of the Intolerable Acts?

the Intolerable Acts denied many rights of the accused

The Constitution's Preamble begins with the three words " __________________ ."

The Preamble states that a goal of the new Constitution is to "secure the blessings of _______________.

"We the people"; Liberty

The Preamble states that the new government will help "establish ___________.The Constitution does create a new national court called the Supreme Court.

The Preamble also states that the new government will "promote the general _________________."

The Constitution gives Congress the power to tax and spend for this purpose

Justice; Welfare

Which is not a stated goal of the Preamble?

to strengthen the power of the states

In a speech at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Benjamin Franklin argued that each session should begin with:

prayer

True/False: Franklin compared creating a new constitution without prayer to the Old Testament story of the Tower of Babel.

True

True/False: Franklin argued that if God cares about a sparrow that falls from the sky, He would also be concerned about the fate of America.

True

True/False: Franklin argues that God does not concern Himself with the destiny of nations.

False

True/False: The struggle for power in 17th Century England is of no relevance to the Founding of America

False

True/False: John Locke rejected the notion that kings ruled by Divine Right.

True

True/False: John Locke argued that government originates out of a social contract among the people.

true

True/False: For Raeder, a law should be a universal, standing rule.

true

For Raeder, a law should limit our choice of means but not dictate our personal goals

True

True/False: For Raeder, a command allows the recipient to use his judgment and knowledge, but a law does not

false