U.S. Government Unit #1

1. U.S. Government Unit #1 Quiz B

2. Be very familiar with the following Daily Vocab Words: • 11.) Democracy • 12.) Republic • 13.) Unalienable Rights • 14.) Popular Sovereignty • 15.) Social Contract Theory • 16.) John Locke • 17.) Thomas Hobbes • 18.) Separation of Powers • 19.) Checks and Balances • 20.) Judicial Review • You should also be very familiar with the lesson content presented in A#3, HO#3, A#4, HO#4, and HO#5, with particular attention to: • Democracy V. Republic • Thomas Hobbes’ V. John Locke’s View of Social Contract Theory • American grievances against British rule expressed by the Declaration of Independence • The influence of Social Contract Theory and John Locke on the Declaration of Independence. • How popular sovereignty relates to John Locke’s ideas of limited government, classical liberalism, rule of law, civil liberties, etc. Unit 1, Quiz B Study Guide:

3. 11.) Democracy is a system of government in which the people rule either directly, or through elected representatives.. “A democracy can be either director representative; in a direct democracy, the citizens as a whole form a governing body and vote directly on each issue. In a representative democracy the citizens elect representatives from among themselves.”

4. 12.) A Republicis a system where laws are made by representatives chosen the people and must comply with a constitution which specifically protects the rights of the minority from the will of the majority. “In both a republic and a democracy, citizens are empowered to participate in a representational political system. They elect people to represent and protect their interests in how the government functions. In a pure democracy, laws are made directly by the voting majority leaving the rights of the minority largely unprotected, whereas a republic emphasizes individual freedom in the form of civil liberties to protect citizens from government abuses of power.

6. 13.) “Unalienable Rights” refer tofundamental rights endowed on every human being by his or her Creator, and are often referred to as “natural rights.” John Locke, 17th Century English philosopher, discussed the concept of unalienable rights as he advanced the idea that life, liberty, and property were fundamental rights that people could not be forced to surrender. “The most famous use of the phrase ‘unalienable rights’ was by Thomas Jefferson in the American Declaration of Independence, who built on John Locke’s ideology when he stated that people have unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

7. 14.) Popular Sovereignty is the principle that the authority and legitimacy (validity) of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent (permission) of its people (“the governed...”), which is the source of all political power. “Popular sovereignty is an idea that dates back to social contract theory, represented by Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679), John Locke (1632–1704), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), who held that the legitimacy of rule of law is based on the consent of the governed. Popular sovereignty is thus a basic tenet of most Republics”

8. 15.) Social Contract Theory is the principle that when forming governments, individuals come together and cede (sacrifice, give up) some of their individual rights in exchange for protections from the “state”. The “state” refers to the official institution of government in any given nation, and it must create laws to regulate social interactions so that human life is thus no longer "a war of all against all". “The first modern philosopher to articulate a detailed social contract theory was Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679). According to Hobbes’ book Leviathan, the lives of individuals in the state of nature (no government) were "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short", a state in which self-interest and the absence of rights and contracts prevented the formation of civilized society. Life was "anarchic" (without leadership or the concept of sovereignty). Individuals in the state of nature were apolitical and asocial. This state of nature is followed in the history of human development by the social contract.”

9. The Social Contract (Video Link) https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-government-and-civics/us-gov-foundations/us-gov-ideals-of-democracy/v/thomas-hobbes-and-social-contract

11. 16.) John Locke was an English philosopher, commonly known as the "Father of Classical Liberalism” (a political ideology which advocates civil liberties under the rule of law). Locke’s contributions to classical liberalism as well as classical republicanism are reflected in the United States’ Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and most scholars trace the ‘unalienable rights’ mentioned in this document to Locke’s assertion that everyone has a natural right to defend his or her "life, health, liberty, or possessions" “John Locke's political theory was founded on social contract theory. Unlike Thomas Hobbes, Locke believed that human nature is characterised by reason and tolerance, and he advocated governmental separation of powers and believed that revolution is not only a right but an obligation in some circumstances.”

12. 17.) Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher who is best known for his 1651 book Leviathan, which expounded an influential formulation of social contract theory. Unlike John Locke, Hobbes’ ideology contained no mention of separation of powers, as Hobbes believed that people ought to submit to a powerful, strict Leviathan State which compels (forces) them to act in the common good. “Thomas Hobbes argued that mankind’s ‘state of nature’ is a ‘war of all against all’, and that we enter into social contracts in order to avoid this state of constant fear. Hobbes compared the Leviathan State to a “mortal god”, and argued that the brute situation of a state of nature could only be avoided by widespread fear of a strong, undivided government.”

13. 18.) The Separation of Powers is a model for the governance of a state. Under this model, a state's government is divided into branches, each with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with the powers associated with the other branches. “The U.S. Government follows the traditional trias politica model for its version of the separation of powers into three branches: a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary. It can be contrasted with the fusion of powers in parliamentary democracies, which combine the legislative and executive powers into a single branch.” Please Take Out Your Copy of A#5

14. A#5 Answers Aristotle- Father of Philosophy who wrote about diverse subjects like government, logic, rhetoric, ethics, etc… place objects and Ideas into categories based on similar properties -Cicero - Wrote De Officiis, a meditation on morality as applied to public life, argued for self-restraint and limits to action for the sake of self-interest…. That the state must always choose what is honorable -Machiavelli- directly contradicted Cicero, and argued that to establish, maintain and expand their power, rulers must be taught “how not to be good” -Thomas Hobbes - Early proponent of social contract theory, who argued that a “mortal god” in the form of a strict, authoritarian ‘Leviathan State” was needed in order to keep people in line by fear and save us all from the ever-present danger of a “state of nature” -John Locke - in contrast to Hobbes, Locke used state of nature and social contract theory to justify limited government and the preservation of individual rights (civil liberties) -Montesquieu - A satirist who pointed out the absurdities of European life, who authored “The Spirit of the Law” -William Blackstone - PlacedEnglish Common Law into 4 categories in his book Commentaries on the Laws of England, which became an important source of legal info for American colonists; also wrote “The Rights of Englishmen”, outlining basic rights like due process of law and equality before the law

15. 19.) Checks and Balances are the means by which Separation of Powers is achieved in U.S. Government. Checks and balances operate throughout the U.S. government, as each branch exercises certain powers that can be checked by the powers given to the other two branches. “Some examples of Checks and Balances in U.S. Government include the fact that the Supreme Court and other federal courts (judicial branch) can declare laws or presidential actions unconstitutional, in a process known as judicial review. In turn, the president checks the judiciary through his/her power to appoint federal judges, including members of the Supreme Court”.

16. 20.) Judicial Reviewrefers to the court’s legal authority to “review” and eventually overturn legislative laws and executive orders that they find to be unconstitutional. “A court with judicial review power (such as the U.S. Supreme Court) may invalidate laws by Congress, executive actions by the President and lower courts’ decisions that are incompatible with the higher authority of the written constitution (which is considered the ultimate law of the land)”

17. Marbury Vs. Madison (1803) • William Marbury was appointed “Justice of the Peace” in D.C. by outgoing President John Adams, but was pushed out by the new President’s Secretary of State, James Madison. • This case established the power of Judicial Review, meaning that the U.S. courts have the ability to “review” laws passed by Congress and the President, and invalidate them if they violate the constitution.