General Enlightenment
The name of the time period where people used logic more than religion to explain the world.
What is the Enlightenment?
Every human being was born with these, and most Enlightenment writers believed that government's role was to protect them.
What are natural rights?
This event led to 5 Boston citizens' deaths and pushed colonists to argue that the social contract had been broken.
What is the Boston Massacre?
This Enlightenment idea is shown in the Constitution through our three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial)
What is separation of powers?
This is one foundational document of the United States.
What is the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, or the Constitution?
In his work Two Treatises on Government he argued that the social contract could be broken if government did not protect natural rights.
Who is John Locke?
These are the natural rights that all humans are born with.
What are life, liberty, and property?
This document was written as an explanation for why the American colonies wanted to "break up" with Great Britain.
What is the Declaration of Independence?
This Enlightenment Ideal is found in this quote from the Declaration of Independence "...Whenever any Government becomes destructive..., it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it."
What is the Social Contract?
This office of the US government requires you to be 35 years old and a natural born US citizen.
What is president of the United States?
In his work Two Treatises on Government, Locke argued that governments must have this from the governed in order to rule.
What is consent?
Montesquieu argued that a good government has this, to avoid one person becoming too powerful.
What is separation of powers/three branches of government?
This was the name of the famously failed first government of the United States.
What are the Articles of Confederation?
Which Enlightenment Ideal is found in this quote from the Declaration of Independence? "All men are created equal, [and] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
What are natural rights?
Shays' Rebellion caused chaos in the US; Congress could not physically stop this rebellion because they did not have one of these under the Articles of Confederation.
What is a military?
This term is used to describe the way branches of government keep each other from becoming too powerful.
What are checks and balances?
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is from this document.
What is the Declaration of Independence?
This is one way citizens can show "consent of the governed."
What is voting and/or not rebelling.
The state they are elected to represent.
In his work, The Leviathan, he argued that a government must be strong to control unruly men.
Who is Hobbes?
In Europe, these people were known for writing theories on government.
What are philosophers?
This document became the longer-lasting government of the United States and is still in use today.
What is the Constitution?
This Enlightenment Ideal can be seen when Congress chooses to impeach a president because he has abused his power.
What are checks and balances?
This is the process through which presidents and Supreme Court justices can be removed from office.
What is impeachment?