2 nd 9 Weeks Study Guide

Foundations of American Democracy

1. Explain John Locke’s theory of natural rights/law.

2. What were John Locke’s Natural Rights?

3. What does the phrase “natural rights” mean?

4. Describe Montesquieu’s theory of separation of powers.

5. How did Montesquieu’s idea of separation of powers influence our founding fathers?

6. Compare Locke’s natural law theory with that of Jefferson’s natural rights listed in the D.O.I.

7. Complete the following table:

_ENLIGHTENMENT _Thinkers Group of people who came up with theories on how the government should run.

NATURAL RIGHTS A theory created by John Locke that says all people are born with the rights to LIFE, LIBERTY & THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.

SOCIAL CONTRACT A theory created by John Locke that says in order for people to protect their natural rights, they must create a contract between themselves and a GOVERNMENT.

SEPARATION OF POWERS A theory created by Montesquieu that says the only way government will work properly is if it is broken up into 3 branches.

8. What are the important ideas within the Magna Carta and how did they impact our founding fathers’ idea of government? MAGNA CARTA = LIMITED GOVERNMENT BY LIMITING POWER OF KING; INCREASED INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS; ESTABLISHED RULE OF LAW AND DUE PROCESS

9. Explain the significance of the English Bill of Rights and how it impacted the Constitution. EBR = ESTABLISHMENT OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS

10. What impact did the Mayflower Compact have on our founding fathers idea of government? SELF-GOVERNMENT

11. What was Common Sense and what impact did it have on our founding fathers? PAMPHLET THAT ENCOURAGED COLONISTS TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENCE FROM ENGLAND

12. Complete the following table:

Influential Documents What was the document? Ideas our founding

SEE # 7 FOR ANSWERS TO HELP WITH 1-6.

fathers gained from it.

MAGNA CARTA Document that limited the power of the King of England and made sure the King had to follow all the laws of the kingdom.

• Limited Government• Rights• Rule of Law• Due Process

ENGLISH BILL OF RIGHTS

Document that gave additional rights to the people of England (i.e. freedom of speech, no cruel or unusual punishment, etc.)

• Limited Government• Rights

MAYFLOWER COMPACT

Document that outlined how the people on the Mayflower would be governed once they landed.

Self - Government

COMMON SENSE Common Sense was a pamphlet written to convince the American colonists to support becoming independent from England. It was written by a colonial journalist and circulated in 1776.

Declaring Independence

13. What was the main reason the colonists become increasingly unhappy with the British Government? (Hint: “no taxation without representation!”) King was continuing to tax them and treat them unfairly (i.e., make decisions without their consent; no fair trials for any wrongs; harsh punishments)

14. How did the British government respond when colonists in Boston became rebellious to their policies?King taxed them more

15. What does it mean in the D.O.I. by “People are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights?” Rights that you are born with

16. What does it mean in the D.O.I when it says “Governments are instituted among men to secure these rights?” Governments to protect our rights

17. What does it mean in the D.O.I when it says “Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed?” Governments are established with our consent/approval and that we agree to be managed by them

18. What does it mean in the D.O.I when it says “Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it?” We can abolish it.

19. What is the “rule of law”?No one is above the law.

Explain why the following complaints are listed in the Declaration of Independence. 20. Imposing taxes without their assent – Taxation with no representation

21. Suspending trial by jury - Decisions made by KING ONLY --- no jury of peers to weigh in

22. Limiting the power of the judges - - Decisions made by KING ONLY

23. Quartering soldiers – King forcing colonists to feed and house soldiers he sent to control them

24. Dissolving legislatures (representative houses) – Providing no voice for colonists with respect to taxes

25. Complete the following timeline26. Timeline of Events to the Declaration of Independence

27.28.29.30.31.32.33.

34.

26. Complete both charts:

Understanding the Declaration of IndependenceDifferent parts of the Declaration of Independence Meaning of the parts of the Declaration.

endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights People are born with certain rights that can’t be taken away.

“Among these are life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness.” Thomas Jefferson got the ideas for these rights from John Locke’s natural rights.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,

The purpose of government is to protect the rights of the citizens.

“deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Governments get their power only if citizens give them permission.

“Whenever any government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.”

Do away with a corrupt government

Complaints in the Declaration of IndependenceList of Complaints What the complaints are referring to

No fair trials by jury

The King took away colonists rights to have a jury decide whether they are guilty or not!

Imposing taxes without the consent of the people.

Taxation without representation

No judges to rule fairly on behalf of colonists The King & Parliament brought in their own judges & ordered the

Britain colonizes the Americas

Britain gets into several wars in

Europe

The colonies govern themselves while Britain ignores them for years

Britain goes broke from fighting the

wars

The King of Britain decides to

tax the colonies(Stamp Act, Sugar Act,

etc.)

The colonists rebel against the taxes

because Britain won’t give them a voice in

parliament to vote on the taxes.

Britain punishes the colonists for rebelling against

the King!

(Quartering Act, Intolerable Acts,

etc.)

The colonists declared

independence from Great

Britain!

colonists’ judges around!

Quartering Soldiers King forcing colonists to feed and house soldiers he sent to control them

In England, there was a king and a Parliament. Parliament made laws and stood up for peoples’ rights. In the colonies the King wanted to make the laws.

The King got rid of the legislatures in the colonies, which made it impossible to govern themselves!

The United States ConstitutionArticles of Confederation27. There are five main weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation. What are they?

28. What occurred during Shay’s Rebellion?Shay’s Rebellion: Citizens Turn Violent Things were especially desperate in Massachusetts. Soldiers had returned home after the war expecting wages, but the government could not afford to pay. The economy was slow, and many people were having trouble making ends meet. Even so, the state demanded that citizens pay taxes with gold and silver, which was in short supply. Desperate people filed lawsuits to collect money they had lent to others. But few people had the money, so courts ordered them to pay their debts with the only thing they had left – their land. This fueled outrage that turned into rebellion. In 1786, Daniel Shays led an armed uprising of Massachusetts farm owners. The men burned courthouses and attacked tax collectors, demanding that the state take action to help people in debt. At one point Shay led over a thousand men, vowing to keep the courthouses closed. The state militia broke up the rebellion, but the state eventually gave in to some of the demands.

29. Why did the Articles of Confederation need to be replaced?In America’s earliest days, the Founders experimented with several types of government. The first one was organized under an agreement called the Articles of Confederation. It created a central government that had very little power. Individual state governments kept most of the power. This gave the states a lot of independence, but it also created problems.

Federalists and Anti-Federalists

30. Who were the Federalists and what was their viewpoint on ratifying the Constitution?

31. Who were the Anti-Federalists and what was their viewpoint on ratifying the Constitution?

32. What was to be added for the Anti-Federalists to ratify the Constitution? Why did they want this added?Bill of Rights to ensure individual rights were available.

33. What are the Federalist Papers?

34. What are the Anti-Federalist Papers?

Preamble to the Constitution35. What is the purpose of the Preamble to the Constitution?

36. What is the significance of “We the People?”

37. . Which goal of the Preamble to U.S. Constitution states that the government should be a better union of states than the one created under the Articles of Confederation?

38. Which goal of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution states that the government should work to protect the freedoms of the people and keep things fair?

39. Which goal of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution states that the government should work to protect the country from its enemies?

40. Which goal of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution states that the government should preserve peace within the country?

41. Which goal in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution states that the freedom should be protected now and for future generations?

42. Which goal in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution states that government should work to make things better for everyone in the U.S.?

43. What does the word ordain mean? Establish

44. Complete the Following Chart

The Constitution45. Complete the table below

The United States ConstitutionWeaknesses in the Articles of Confederation How did the Constitution solve these weaknesses?

Congress didn’t have the power to TAX COLONISTS The Constitution gave Congress the power to COLLECT TAXES.

Congress couldn’t control DISPUTES between the states.

The Constitution gave Congress the power to control DISPUTES OR DISAGREEMENTS between the states.

Congress couldn’t ENFORCE the laws it passed. The Constitution created the LEGISLATIVE branch whose main job is to MAKE LAWS.

The national government had no court system.

(no JUDICIAL branch)

The Constitution created the JUDICIAL branch, which is in Article III.

The national government had no leadership

(no EXECUTIVE branch)

The Constitution created the EXECUTIVE branch, which is in Article II.

To change the Articles, 9 of 13 colonies needed to The Constitution made it so that only 2/3 of the state

vote yes. legislatures were needed to amend the Constitution.

The above weaknesses were the result of The Articles of Confederation creating a government that was too weak.

Shays’ Rebellion was important because it demonstrated the need for a strong central government to help raise national money and resolve disputes with states.

Separation of Powers vs. Checks and Balances