Ancient Roots & Influences
Ancient Athens, Greece, is famous for developing this form of government, where citizens vote on laws themselves rather than electing representatives.
What is Direct Democracy?
John Locke said all people are born with rights to life, liberty, and this third thing.
What is Property?
Thomas Paine wrote this popular pamphlet to convince colonists to fight for independence.
What is Common Sense?
Power in the U.S. government is restricted by this supreme written law.
What is the Constitution?
This concept means that everyone must follow the law and no one is above it.
What is the Rule of Law?
This ancient civilization influenced the U.S. system by introducing a Republic with written laws that apply equally to all citizens.
What is Ancient Rome?
Baron de Montesquieu came up with this idea of dividing power so no single group gets too strong.
What is Separation of Powers?
Signed in 1215, this English document was the first to limit the power of the King.
What is the Magna Carta?
These are the three branches of the U.S. government.
What are Legislative, Executive, and Judicial?
This guarantee ensures that legal proceedings and trials are fair and consistent for everyone.
What is Due Process?
This Greek idea means that citizens have a duty to participate in their government.
What is Active Citizenship?
John Locke called the deal where people trade some freedom for government protection this.
What is the Social Contract?
Signed in 1620 by Pilgrims, this document created an agreement for self-government in America.
What is the Mayflower Compact?
The President stopping a bill passed by Congress is an example of this check.
What is a Veto?
This feature of the legal system ensures that two people accused of the same crime receive the same legal protections.
What is Equal Treatment (or Equal Protection)?
These religious traditions taught that every person has individual worth, dignity, and moral choices.
What are Judeo-Christian traditions?
According to John Locke, if a government stops protecting rights, citizens have the right to do this.
What is Rebel (or Overthrow the government)?
Passed in 1689, this document protected rights like trial by jury and banned the King from taxing without consent.
What is the English Bill of Rights?
This system allows each branch to block or limit the powers of the other branches.
What are Checks and Balances?
Under the Rule of Law, citizens are protected from secret rules because all laws must be clear and this.
What is Public (or Transparent)?
The U.S. combined Greek democracy with Roman republic ideas to create this type of government.
What is a Constitutional Republic?
To prevent tyranny, Montesquieu proposed dividing power into three branches and adding this system.
What are Checks and Balances?
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson changed Locke's "property" to this famous phrase.
What is "the pursuit of happiness"?
Unlike a direct democracy, a constitutional republic protects these rights from being voted away by the majority.
What are Minority Rights?
Without the Rule of Law to protect citizens, a society falls under this form of unfair, abusive government rule.
What is Tyranny?