Core Values and Ideals
These rights belong to people simply because they are human. Name the concept and the Enlightenment thinker associated with life, liberty, and property.
1. Natural rights
2. John Locke
Voters elect officials who make government decisions on their behalf. There are two possible names for this system - provide one.
1. Representative Democracy
2. Republicanism
The Constitution divides and shares power between the national government and the state governments. Name this system.
Federalism
Massachusetts farmers protested debts, high taxes, and property foreclosures in 1786 - 1787. Name the uprising.
Shays' Rebellion
What is a change or addition to the Constitution called, and what collective name identifies its first ten?
An amendment; the Bill of Rights.
People accept laws and some limits on their freedom in exchange for protection and order. Name this agreement.
Social Contract
Residents directly discuss and vote on a policy for their town. Which model of democracy does this illustrate, and how do you know?
Participatory democracy.
Citizens participate actively and directly in decision-making.
Congress makes laws, the president enforces laws, and courts interpret laws. Name the principle illustrated by these distinct duties.
Separation of Powers
At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, what framework did delegates originally intend to revise, and what did they produce instead?
They intended to revise the Articles of Confederation; they drafted a new Constitution instead.
Name the compromise and match each chamber: one uses state population to determine representation; the other gives every state two members.
1. Great Compromise
2. - House of Representatives = population-based representation
- Senate = two senators per state.
Identify both principles: (1) the people are the ultimate source of government authority; (2) legitimate government depends on the people’s approval.
1. Popular Sovereignty
2. Consent of the Governed
A city invites all residents to discuss its development plan, but a small circle of prominent professionals and longtime civic leaders sets the agenda and largely determines the final policy.
Which model of democracy does this illustrate?
Elite democracy
The president nominates someone to the Supreme Court, but the Senate rejects the nominee, preventing that person from taking office. Which constitutional principle does this illustrate?
Checks and Balances
Supporters of ratifying the Constitution; opponents concerned about excessive national power and inadequate protections for individual liberties.
Who were they?
Federalists; Anti-Federalists.
Name both arrangements: (1) electors select the president and vice president; (2) three-fifths of enslaved people were counted for representation and direct taxation.
1. Electoral College
2. Three-Fifths Compromise
A government official wants to take an action that the Constitution does not permit. Which ideal requires the official to follow laws as determined by the Constitution?
Limited Government
Business associations, labor unions, and environmental groups compete to influence lawmakers.
Name the model and explain what distinguishes it from elite democracy.
Pluralist democracy.
In this example, multiple competing groups shape policy, rather than a single, small elite group dominating it.
In a loose union, states retain sovereignty and the central government is weak.
Name what this system is called generally and, more specifically, the first U.S. government that used it.
1. confederation
2. Articles of Confederation
Why did Shays’ Rebellion increase concern about the Articles? Identify a national-government weakness and connect it to the crisis.
The national government struggled to raise money and troops to respond effectively. Its inability to tax directly limited its ability to fund a response, increasing calls for a stronger national government.
Congress could not ban the importation of enslaved people before 1808. Name the compromise.
The 1808 slave importation postponement. It delayed Congress’s ability to prohibit importation.
People possess rights in the "state of nature," before government exists. They establish government to protect these rights, and, as people, they remain its ultimate source of government authority. Finally, legal restrictions are placed on government officials.
Name the four ideals described here in order.
1. Natural Rights
2. Social Contract
3. Popular Sovereignty
4. Limited Government
Residents collect enough signatures to place a proposed law on the ballot, then voters decide directly whether to adopt it. Which model of democracy does this process best illustrate?
Participatory democracy
Identify three principles: (1) power is divided between national and state governments; (2) lawmaking, enforcement, and interpretation belong to different branches; (3) one branch can block another’s action.
1. Federalism
2. Separation of powers
3. Checks and balances
Madison and Brutus disagreed about a large republic with many competing interests. Which author argued that this diversity would prevent any one faction from dominating, and which feared it would make effective representation difficult?
Madison (believed competing factions would limit domination); Brutus (feared diverse interests would make effective representation difficult).
A post-9/11 law that expanded security powers, prompting privacy and civil liberties objections.
USA PATRIOT Act: expanded security powers raised concerns about privacy and individual liberties.