Key Documents
This 1215 document limited the power of English monarchs and established that everyone was subject to the law.
What is the Magna Carta?
This philosopher wrote "Common Sense" in 1776, advocating for American independence from Great Britain.
Who is Thomas Paine?
This principle states that the government's authority comes from the people.
What is consent of the governed?
This "unalienable right" in the Declaration of Independence replaced John Locke's concept of "property".
What is the pursuit of happiness?
The First Amendment guarantees this freedom, which is also established in the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom.
What is freedom of religion?
The Pilgrims created this document to establish an orderly community in the New World.
What is the Mayflower Compact?
Author of "Leviathan," this philosopher believed humans are naturally selfish and need a strong government.
Who is Thomas Hobbes?
John Locke's philosophy identified these three as fundamental: life, liberty, and property.
What are natural rights?
The Declaration of Independence asserted that all men are born with this quality.
What is equally free and independent?
According to the study guide, these are rights that all humans are born with and cannot be taken away by the government.
What are natural rights?
Written by George Mason in 1776, this document influenced both the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.
What is the Virginia Declaration of Rights?
This English philosopher believed humans are naturally peaceful and social, and developed the concept of the "Social Contract."
Who is John Locke?
This concept, developed by Montesquieu, divides government power into distinct branches.
What is separation of powers?
This principle in the Declaration of Independence states that a government's legitimacy comes from the people it governs.
What is consent of the governed?
This concept, central to religious freedom, is the idea that religion and government should be kept separate.
What is separation of church and state?
This 1786 document, written by Thomas Jefferson, guaranteed freedom of religion and became the basis for parts of the First Amendment.
What is the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom?
He developed the concept of separation of powers in government, which greatly influenced the U.S. Constitution.
Who is Montesquieu?
This philosophical idea suggests that people give up some freedoms in exchange for protection and order from the government.
What is the Social Contract?
This Enlightenment thinker's ideas on natural rights of life, liberty, and property heavily influenced the American Revolution.
Who is John Locke?
This principle, established in the Magna Carta and fundamental to American government, means that no one, including rulers, is above the rules.
What is the rule of law?
This 1776 pamphlet by Thomas Paine convinced many American colonists to support independence from Great Britain.
What is "Common Sense"?
Known for advocating freedom of speech and religion, this French philosopher's ideas influenced the Founding Fathers.
Who is Voltaire?
This political theory, opposed by the Founding Fathers, claimed that a monarch's right to rule came directly from God.
What is the divine right of kings?
This document, along with the Declaration of Independence, was significantly influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights.
What is the Bill of Rights?
The preamble of this document begins with the famous phrase "When in the Course of human events".
What is the Declaration of Independence?