Key Terms & Names + Definitions

• Thomas Hobbes: wrote the Levithan

  • The Levithan: belief in absolute sovereignty, humans are naturally bad, to solve this: everyone gives up SOME rights to live in harmony

• Limited Government: what it sounds like, everything is kept under control by a government w/o violating rights

• John Locke: wrote Second Treatise of Civil Government

  • Second Treatise of Civil Government: natural law = law of God, proven by human reasoning, belief that people were born free and equal, no one can be ruled w/o consent, can rebel if consent is violated

• Montesquieu: wrote on the Spirit of Law

  • On the Spirit of Law: belief in republican form of government, aka defined and limited power w/ liberty to citizens, argued for separation of powers w/ branches represented like ours today

• Natural Rights: see John Locke

• Popular Sovereignty: the people are the ultimate ruling authority w/ government officials to carry out laws

• Representative Republic: citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf

• Republicanism: citizens elect leaders → they must make & execute laws in the public’s interest

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: wrote the Social Contract

  • The Social Contract: influenced by Locke, “Man is born free, and he is everywhere in chains,” view of popular soverieignty

• Elite Democracy: elected representatives make decisions and act as trustees for the people who elected them

  • ex: The Electoral College

• Interest Group: complete to make their ideas heard to persuade legislation

• Participatory Democracy: every citizen votes on everything

  • ex: town/city hall meetings

• Pluralist Democracy: everyone w/ varying interests can be represented by a group, overlapping/overarching views are an issue — voting can take forever

  • ex: interest groups

• Representative Democracy: the people entrust elected officials to represent their concerns

• Anti-Federalist: opposed a central, federal government

• Federalist: supported the constitutional structure, a strong federal government

• Initiative: the people can place a topic on the ballot to be voted on

• Referendum: citizens can question/discuss he work of the legislature

• John Adams: apart of the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence

  • along w/ Benjamin Franklin & Thomas Jefferson

• Declaration of Independence: provided a moral and legal justification for the rebellion

• Alexander Hamiltion: helped shape new government

• James Madision: first to arrive to Confederation Congress

• U.S. Constitution: supreme law of the land

• George Washington: president of the Convention

• Factions: basically an interest group but more extreme

• Federalist No. 10: addresses concern w/ factions, pro-consitution, support of central government

• Brutus No. 1: against a central government, fears of a monarchy