Forms of Government
A form of autocracy where power is held by a king or queen and is inherited through a royal family line.
A. Democracy
B. Oligarchy
C. Monarchy
D. Dictatorship
C. Monarchy
Signed in England in 1215, this document was the first to limit the absolute power of the monarch and guarantee basic trial rights.
A. Mayflower Compact
B. Magna Carta
C. English Bill of Rights
D. Common Sense
B. Magna Carta
English philosopher John Locke defined natural rights as these three fundamental things.
Life, liberty and property
This ancient civilization was the first to introduce direct democracy
A. Rome
B. Greece
C. China
D. Israel
B. Greece
A system of government ruled by a small, elite group of wealthy or powerful individuals.
A. Democracy
B. Oligarchy
C. Monarchy
D. Theocracy
B. Oligarchy
The main idea from the English Bill of Rights was
A. Limited government
B. Natural rights
C. Individual rights
D. Self government
C. Individual Rights
Article I states "All legislative Powers... shall be vested in a Congress," while Article II states "The executive Power shall be vested in a President." This demonstrates this structural protection against tyranny.
A. Checks and Balances
B. Separation of Powers
C. Social Contract
D. Natural Rights
B. Separation of powers
In Federalist No. 51, James Madison wrote: "If men were angels, no government would be necessary." Because leaders are not angels, the Constitution enforces this principle to restrict government authority. What idea is being talked about?
A. Separation of powers
B. Limited Government
C. Rule of Law
D. Due process of law
B. Limited government
A system where religious leaders rule and laws are based directly on sacred texts or divine guidance.
A. Monarchy
B. Democracy
C. Oligarchy
D. Theocracy
D. Theocracy
Thomas Paine authored this popular 1776 pamphlet that persuaded American colonists to break away from British rule and form a representative government.
A. Common Sense
B. Magna Carta
C. Mayflower Compact
D. English Bill of Rights
A. Common Sense
The Declaration of Independence states that when a government destroys natural rights, "it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it," which is based on this Enlightenment concept.
A. Checks and Balances
B. Separation of Powers
C. Social Contract
D. Natural Rights
C. Social Contract
The Declaration of Independence states that governments derive "their just powers from the consent of the governed." This means government legitimacy comes from this source. Where does the government get their power from?
A. Themselves
B. God
C. the People
D. the Government
C. the People
In Country X, citizens vote for officials to write laws, and the government's power is strictly limited by a written set of supreme rules. This scenario describes America's system.
A. Monarchy
B. Constitutional Republic
C. Direct Democracy
D. Dictatorship
B. Constitutional republic
Clause 39 of the Magna Carta (1215) declared: "No free man shall be seized or imprisoned... except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land." This introduced this vital legal right.
A. Natural rights
B. Habeas Corpus
C. Due process of law
D. Limited government
C. Due process of law
Match the ideas to the Enlightenment Thinker:
1. Montesquieu
2. Locke
A. Natural Rights, B. Separation of Powers, C. Social Contract, D. Checks and Balances
1=A and C
2= B and D
Article VI of the U.S. Constitution states: "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States... shall be the supreme Law of the Land," establishing that no individual or government official is above the law. What idea is being referred to here?
What is the rule of law?
The Constitution of North Korea states that all authority resides in the "Supreme Leader." This absence of constitutional limits on a ruler defines this authoritarian form of government.
A. Dictatorship
B. Monarchy
C. Democracy
D. Theocracy
A. Dictatorship
The Mayflower Compact (1620) stated: "We... covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politick... to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws." This represents an early colonial agreement based on this principle.
A. Due process of law
B. Limited government
C. Self government
D. Natural rights
C. Self government
Montesquieu wrote: "Power should be a check to power." This idea directly inspired Articles I, II, and III of the Constitution to create this system of oversight among branches.
A. Separation of Powers
B. Checks and Balances
C. Natural Rights
D. Social Contract
B. Checks and balances
In Common Sense, Thomas Paine declared: "There is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island." He used this logical argument to convince the thirteen colonies that they needed to take this major step. What was he telling the colonists to do?
A. Share power with the King
B. Declare independence from England
C. Declare war on England
D. Limit the power of the King
B. Declare independence from England