American government Unit 2 Vocab list

Thomas Hobbes

Argued that the government is necessary to escape the “state of nature”

Voltaire

Protection of civil liberties

Baron de Montesquieu

Believed in 3 branch’s of government

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Believed in social contract, a mutual agreement between citizens and the state to form a society based on the general will

Federalists

Supported the ratification of the U.S. constitution to replace articles of confederation

Declaration of Independence

said the American colonies were breaking away from Great Britain, becoming their own country. Contained life livery and the pursuit of happiness

Articles of confederation

set up a weak national government where the states kept most of the power, and Congress had very limited authority. No separation of powers (branches)

Us constitution

Plan for U.S. government. Split power into 3 branches. Protects the rights of people. James Madison wrote it

Unitary system

All power is given to central government, states have weak power in comparison

Confederate system

Weak central government, more power to the states

Federal system

power is shared between a national government and smaller governments, like states.

Direct democracy

Gives citizens the most freedom, direct participation of the citizens, citizens vote on it (ex: election & laws)

Representative democracy

Citizens elect representatives to vote

Republic

Form of government where power is held by the people, who elect representatives to govern on there behalf

Oligarchy

Form of government where power is concentrated in the hands of a small elite group

Autocracy

System in government in which 1 person holds supreme and absolute power with no legal or constitutional limits

Social contract

people give up their natural state of freedom to the U.S. in return for order protection and peace. Rousseau Believed in this

John locke

believed that all people are born with natural rights (life, liberty, and property) Governments existed to protect those rights

Anti federalist

people who opposed the U.S. Constitution because they feared it gave too much power to the national government and not enough to the states.