Systems of Government
What system of government gives all key powers to the national or central government?
Unitary system
What form of government is ruled directly by citizens voting on laws?
Direct democracy
What is the idea that even government leaders must follow the law?
Rule of Law
What document signed in 1215 limited the power of the English king for the first time?
Magna Carta (1215)
Which Enlightenment thinker believed people had natural rights to life, liberty, and property?
John Locke
What system of government divides power between national and state governments?
Federal system
In what form of government do citizens elect representatives to make decisions for them?
Representative democracy (republic)
What principle protects citizens’ freedoms, like speech and religion?
Rights of the minority (individual rights)
What English document in 1628 further limited the king’s ability to tax and imprison citizens without cause?
Petition of Right (1628)
Which thinker believed government powers should be separated into three branches?
Montesquieu
What type of system has independent states with little power given to a weak central authority?
Confederal system
What form of government is ruled by a king or queen?
Monarchy
What principle prevents one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
Separation of powers / Checks and balances
What English document in 1689 gave Parliament power over the king and protected individual rights?
English Bill of Rights (1689)
Which thinker argued that humans are naturally selfish and need a strong ruler for order?
Thomas Hobbes
Which system of government is the United States an example of today?
Federal system (United States today)
What form of government is ruled by a small, powerful elite group?
Oligarchy
What is the principle that citizens give government the authority to rule?
Consent of the governed
Which American document was directly influenced by the English Bill of Rights?
U.S. Bill of Rights
Which thinker believed people form a social contract with government to create general will?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Compare a unitary system and a federal system: what is the biggest difference in how power is distributed?
Unitary = power held by one central authority; Federal = power shared between national and state governments
What form of government is ruled by a religious leader or based on religious law?
Theocracy
Which two limits of government are most directly shown in the U.S. Bill of Rights?
Rule of Law and Rights of the Minority (protected in the Bill of Rights)
Explain how the Magna Carta, Petition of Right, or English Bill of Rights inspired U.S. ideas of limited government.
They limited government power and protected rights — U.S. adopted these ideas in the Constitution and Bill of Rights
Which Enlightenment ideas can be seen in the U.S. Constitution? Give one example.
Examples: Locke’s natural rights → Declaration of Independence; Montesquieu’s separation of powers → U.S. Constitution; Rousseau’s social contract → democracy; Voltaire’s free speech/religion → Bill of Rights