Ancient Roots & British Influences
This ancient civilization contributed direct citizen participation and voting on legislation to modern democratic thought.
What is Ancient Greece?
John Locke argued that natural rights include life, liberty, and this third core concept.
What is property?
In this form of government, power is concentrated in the hands of a single, unchecked ruler. (ex: absolute monarchy, dictatorship)
What is an autocracy?
Written by Thomas Jefferson, this 1776 document articulated natural rights and declared separation from Great Britain.
What is the Declaration of Independence?
America's first national constitution intentionally created a weak central government lacking an executive branch and the power to do this.
What is levy taxes (or tax)?
This 1215 English document established the principle of limited government and due process.
What is the Magna Carta?
This philosopher argued that human life in a state of nature leads to chaos, requiring a social contract under a strong sovereign for security.
Who is Thomas Hobbes?
In this democratic system, executive power is fused with the legislative branch, and the Prime Minister is chosen by the majority party.
What is a Parliamentary system?
Authored by George Mason, this state document proclaimed inherent rights and served as the major blueprint for the federal Bill of Rights.
What is the Virginia Declaration of Rights?
Under the Articles of Confederation, each state received this number of votes in Congress regardless of size.
What is one vote?
Issued by King James I, these documents guaranteed that English settlers retained their full rights as English subjects.
What are the Charters of the Virginia Company of London?
Enlightenment political theory asserts that legitimate government power derives from the consent of this group.
Who are the governed (or the people)?
This system is characterized by a clear separation of powers between an independently elected President and a distinct legislature.
What is a Presidential system?
Known as the "Father of the Constitution," he drafted and guided the national Bill of Rights through the First Congress.
Who is James Madison?
This document serves as the supreme law of the United States of America
What is the U.S. Constitution?
This 1689 document established parliamentary supremacy and prohibited cruel and unusual punishment, though it held no legal authority in the independent U.S.
What is the English Bill of Rights?
This term describes the 18th-century European intellectual movement that emphasized reason, individualism, and new political principles.
What is the Enlightenment?
Unlike representative republics, this system requires citizens to vote directly on laws and policies themselves.
What is a direct democracy?
This 1786 Virginia state law drafted by Thomas Jefferson established absolute freedom of conscience and strict separation of church and state
What is the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom?
Under the Articles of Confederation, Americans deliberately weakened the national government out of fear of creating a this type of ruler
What is a tyrant or monarch?
This 18th-century religious revival indirectly encouraged citizens to challenge political authority by fostering an egalitarian mindset.
What is the Great Awakening?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau emphasized popular sovereignty and this collective concept regarding the common good.
What is the general will?
In this form of government, a hereditary king or queen serves as the head of state, but their executive authority is limited by a written set of laws and a parliament
What is a Constitutional Monarchy?
This Founding Father most the prominent Anti-Federalist from Virginia
Who was Patrick Henry?
The original U.S. Constitution was drafted in Philadelphia during this year.
What is 1787?