AP Gov 1: Ideals of Democracy

Great Britain

In 1776, after the war between ________ and the colonial United States had begun, the Declaration of Independence: a document that provided a moral and legal justification for the rebellion was written and approved on July 4, 1776.

Thomas Jefferson

________, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams were the three principal writers of this Declaration.

James Madison

________ (The "Father of the Constitution), "George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and representatives from participating states selected a Grand Committee, that consisted of one delegate from each state to form the Constitution.

separation of powers

Limited government: one kept under control by law, checks, and balances, and ________.

Primary work

The Leviathan

His solution for this issue was to have an absolute sovereign

a ruler with absolute power that would still honor a contract between them and the people

John Locke (1632

1704)

Primary work

Second Treatise of Civil Government

Believed in Natural Law

the law of God in which humans have natural rights that cannot be taken away from them, all humans are born free and equal

Primary work

The Social Contract

His definition of the social contract

an agreement between the government and its people that the people will give away some of their rights in exchange for security

Also had the idea of popular sovereignty

the people as the ultimate ruling authority

Primary work

The Spirit of the Laws

These ideas gave birth to republicanism

a political ideology in which men were entitled to "life, liberty, and property" and these could not be taken away except under laws created through the consent of the governed

limited government

one kept under control by law, checks, and balances, and separation of powers

In 1776, after the war between Great Britain and the colonial United States had begun, the Declaration of Independence

a document that provided a moral and legal justification for the rebellion was written and approved on July 4, 1776

representative republic

a collection of sovereign states gathered for the national interest, national needs, and national defense

social contract

agreement between a democratic government and its' people that if violated, the people could take the power back

natural law

law of God, acknowledged through human sense and reason under which people were born free and equal

popular sovereignty

the people as the ultimate ruling authority

republicanism

political ideology in which men were entitled to "life, liberty, and property" and these could not be taken away except under laws created through the consent of the governed

Declaration of Independence

an official statement which justified the colonies break from Britain, listing the moral and legal justification for the rebellion

Articles of Confederation

series of statements that defined the initial national government and redefined the former colonies as states

Grand Committee

committee made up of one delegate from each of the states represented at the convention

Thomas Hobbes

Believed that humans would regress to a “state of nature“ that resulted in anarchy and chaos if not governed and an absolute ruler

John Locke

Believed in all humans are born free and equal by the natural law, proponent of the consent of the governed

Jean-Jacques Rosseau

Believed in the social contract and popular sovereignty

Baron de Montesquieu

Believed in the separation of powers in government as well as checks and balances.