Kofi's Social Science Midterm Study Guide Bruh

  • State of nature

the existence of people without an overseeing authority.

  • Social contract 

 people live together in society following an agreement that establishes moral and political rules of behavior. 

  • Philosophers (State of nature, Why we need government, who should rule) 

    • Thomas Hobbes: Hobbes viewed government primarily as a device for ensuring collective security. Political authority is justified by a hypothetical social contract among the many that vests in a sovereign person or entity the responsibility for the safety and well-being of all.

    • John Locke: In politics, Locke is best known as a proponent of limited government. He uses a theory of natural rights to argue that governments have obligations to their citizens, have only limited powers over their citizens, and can ultimately be overthrown by citizens under certain circumstances.


  • Jean-Jaques Rousseau: Rousseau defines democracy, but leaves his first premise relatively unmotivated because it is uncontroversial. The purpose of a government is to provide stability to humans that the state of nature does not. 

  • Adam Smith 

    • Impartial spectator: When faced with a moral dilemma, we often have an internal conversation and examine the situation as an outsider to determine what to do.

    • Division of labor: Division of labor is the separation of tasks in any economic system or organization so that participants may specialize. 

    • Competitive advantage: how a company can produce goods or deliver services better than its competitors.

    • Invisible hand: Entrepreneurs could do that better and more profitably than if a government told them what to do and produce.

  • Public policy: the decisions that create the outputs of a political system 

  • Rule of law: the restriction of the arbitrary exercise of power by subordinating it to well-defined and established laws. 

  • Power: the capacity to influence, lead, dominate, or otherwise have an impact on the lives and actions of others in society. 

  • Authority: the legitimate or socially approved power that one person or a group possesses and practices over another.    

  • Legitimacy: the belief that a rule, institution, or leader has the right to govern.

  • Sovereignty: a dominant power or supreme authority


Lesson 2 United States Government (30 Questions) 

  • The Declaration of Independence

    • Preamble: When a group decides to break the political ties that connect them to another group of people, they should explain the reasons they want to separate

    • Declaration of Human Rights: All men are created equal and have certain natural rights.

    • List of grievances: List of complaints the colonists have with King George.

    • Redress: When the states have tried to petition the king to ask for a change.

    • Declaration of independence: When the colonies declared their independence 

  • The Articles of Confederation

    • Shay’s Rebellion: Led to the end of the Articles of Confederation: 

    • How was the government structured?: made up of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.

  • The Constitutional Convention 

    • Three branches: Legislative, Judicial, Executive

    • Federalism: a system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two levels of government

    • The Great Compromise (The New Jersey and Virginia): Congressional delegates initially rejected the Paterson plan, but it was ultimately incorporated into what became known as “The Great Compromise,” a two-house (or bi-cameral) legislative system that included both a branch based on relative population size based on one representative for every 30,000 people in a state,

  • The Constitution 

    • The Preamble: When a group decides to break the political ties that connect them to another group of people, they should explain the reasons they want to separate. 

    • Article 1 (Legislative)

    • Article 2 (Executive) 

    • Article 3 (Judicial) 

    • Article 4 (Relationship between states) 

    • Article 5 (Amending the Constitution) 

    • Article 6 (Supremacy clause) 

    • Article 7 (Ratification of the Constitution) 

  • The Bill of Rights (1-10 amendments) 

    • Amendment 13: Abolition of slavery

    • Amendment 14: Citizenship rights, Equal protection, Apportionment, Civil War debt.

    • Amendment 15: Right to vote not denied by race. 

    • Amendment 18: The prohibition of alcohol

    • Amendment 19: Women's right to vote 

    • Amendment 21: Repeal of Prohibition 

    • Amendment 26: Right to vote at 18 years old 

Lesson 4 Political Parties (30 Questions) 

  • Political Socialization

  • Political Party Online Surveys (Spectrum) 

    • Libertarian: Libertarianism is a political philosophy that holds freedom and liberty as primary values.

    • Authoritarian: Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and the rule of law.

    • Progressive/Liberal (Left): believes in equality and individual liberty and supports private property and individual rights. 

    • Moderate: Moderate is an ideological for people who are against radical or extreme political and religious views.

    • Conservative (Right): Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in which it appears.