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
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.