Unit 1: Chapter 1 (1.1–1.3)

Question 1

Who was Thomas Hobbes? What did he write?

Answer 1

Enlightenment philosopher who came up with the “state of nature” and social contract; wrote the Leviathan

Question 2

What is the “social contract” according to Hobbes?

Answer 2

If everyone gives up some rights and agrees to live in peace, an absolute sovereign can uphold society, so long as that sovereign manages the people as the people wish, taking the good of society into account

Question 3

What is the “state of nature” according to Hobbes?

Answer 3

The state of humans without society, which is violent and adheres to the “every man for himself” doctrine

Question 4

What is limited government?

Answer 4

A government kept under control by law, separation of powers, and checks and balances

Question 5

Who was John Locke? What did he write?

Answer 5

Enlightenment philosopher who came up with “natural law through human sense and reason” and said that the people have an obligation to rebellion; wrote the Second Treatise of Government

Question 6

Who was Baron de Montesquieu? What did he write?

Answer 6

Enlightenment philosopher that spoke on the social contract and government having defined and limited power with political liberty, and came up with separation of powers, the three branches of government, “life, liberty, and property,” republicanism, and elected leaders; wrote The Spirit of the Laws

Question 7

What are natural rights according to Locke?

Answer 7

The three, God-given rights of “life, liberty, and property”

Question 8

What is popular sovereignty?

Answer 8

“The people” (or common populace) as the ultimate ruling authority

Question 9

What is “natural law” according to Locke?

Answer 9

Law of God acknowledged by human sense and reason that in a state of nature people were born free and equal

Question 10

What is a representative republic?

Answer 10

A collection of sovereign states gathered for the national interest, needs, and defense

Question 11

What is republicanism?

Answer 11

Citizens elect leaders for a limited period of time

Question 12

Who was Jean-Jacques Rousseau? What did he write?

Answer 12

Enlightenment philosopher influenced by Locke and wrote about the agreement of free and equal people to abandon certain rights for the protections of society and to find freedom in a single body politic committed to the general good in The Social Contract, and envisioned popular sovereignty and a government of officials to carry out the laws

Question 13

Who was John Adams?

Answer 13

Second president who helped write the Declaration of Independence

Question 14

What is the Declaration of Independence?

Answer 14

Document approved on July 4, 1776 that provided a moral and legal justification for the rebellion of the colonies

Question 15

Who was Benjamin Franklin?

Answer 15

Enlightenment thinker and inventor who helped write certain foundational documents

Question 16

Who was Alexander Hamilton?

Answer 16

Helped write the Constitution and later came up with the national bank

Question 17

Who was Thomas Jefferson?

Answer 17

Inspired by Enlightenment ideas, he wrote the Declaration of Independence

Question 18

Who was James Madison?

Answer 18

Earned nickname “Father of the Constitution” due to his heavy involvement in every stage of the Constitution, including the publicizing of it in writing some of the Federalist Papers

Question 19

What is the U.S. Constitution?

Answer 19

The blueprint for the U.S. Government that outlines three branches of government, which can be edited and added to with amendments

Question 20

Who was George Washington?

Answer 20

Revolutionary War General, later president of the Constitutional Convention, and even later the first president of the U.S., setting many precedents and traditions for being president

Question 21

How does an elite democracy work?

Answer 21

Elected representatives make decisions and act as trustees for the people who elected them, recognizing an inequity in the spread of power among the general populace and elites

Question 22

What are interest groups?

Answer 22

People with shared interests that organize and unite into nongovernmental groups to exert influence on political decision making that make up a pluralist democracy

Question 23

How does a participatory democracy work?

Answer 23

Direct participation of many, if not most, people in a society, not only in government, but in public life as well

Question 24

How does a pluralist democracy work?

Answer 24

Interest groups compete in the “marketplace of ideas” and look for access points at the local, state, and federal levels to persuade policymakers, allowing many people to voice their interests, preventing wealthy elite from grabbing all power

Question 25

How does a representative democracy work?

Answer 25

People entrust elected officials to represent their concerns; umbrella term for participatory, pluralist, and elite democracies

Question 26

Who were the Anti-Federalists?

Answer 26

The political party that opposed the Constitution and wanted more states rights as a result of not wanting a strong federal government

Question 27

Who were the Federalists?

Answer 27

The political party that wanted a strong federal government, and thus supported the Constitution

Question 28

What is a ballot initiative?

Answer 28

Power to place a measure on the ballot for a popular vote

Question 29

What is referendum?

Answer 29

Citizens can contest the work of the legislature by gathering support, usually through signatures on a petition, to call for a vote to defeat or uphold unpopular legislation

Question 30

What are factions?

Answer 30

Another word for interest groups (see slide on interest groups)

Question 31

What is Federalist No. 10? Who wrote it?

Answer 31

Paper that addresses the concern that a few powerful individuals might unite into a faction to dominate politics by saying that with the size of the U.S. and its many people, thus many factions, it would be impossible for such a thing to happen, as the overlapping factions would cancel each other out; written by James Madison

Question 32

What is Brutus No. 1?

Answer 32

Paper that comments on the dangers of too large and too consolidated a government, and that citizens wouldn’t pay enough attention to government for the Constitution to work, arguing that this version of government would have too much power

Question 33

Which is the most democratic institution of government that represents the framers' commitment to a limited republic?

Answer 33

U.S. House of Representatives

Question 34

Which philosopher wrote the 'Second Treatise of Civil Government'?

Answer 34

John Locke

Question 35

Which philosopher wrote 'Leviathan'?

Answer 35

Thomas Hobbes

Question 36

Fill in the blank: John Locke believed in the _______. (Hint: it’s to do with the relationship between government and the governed)

Answer 36

social contract

Question 37

Which of the following is a chief argument in James Madison's Federalist No. 10?

Answer 37

A large, diverse republic will tame the mischiefs of factions.

Question 38

In the Mayflower Compact, the authors recognized what?

Answer 38

Their right to a collective self-rule even as British subjects

Question 39

Which Enlightenment philosophy is most consistent with the ideas in the Mayflower Compact?

Answer 39

Locke's consent of the governed

Question 40

What is a key distinction between Federalists and Anti-Federalists?

Answer 40

Federalists wanted a strong national government; Anti-Federalists wanted the states to have greater power

Question 41

True or False: The authors of the Mayflower Compact believed that everyone in the colony should share the same religion.

Answer 41

False

Question 42

Fill in the blank: Hobbes argued that in a state of nature, people are _______.

Answer 42

Free and equal

Question 43

What was the Enlightenment?

Answer 43

An intellectual movement that was influenced by deism and the admiration of human achievement

Question 44

What did the Mayflower Compact aim to establish?

Answer 44

A civil body politic for better ordering and preservation

Question 45

What did Anti-Federalists fear regarding large states?

Answer 45

That large states would have more power than the federal government

Question 46

What is the significance of the 'necessary and proper' clause?

Answer 46

It gives flexibility to legislation and grants implied powers to the branches of government

Question 47

Fill in the blank: Montesquieu believed in _______. (Hint: it has to do with law, checks and balances, and separation of powers)

Answer 47

limited government

Question 48

Who was Brutus? How many essays did they write?

Answer 48

The a pseudonym for Anti-Federalists that wrote arguments against the Federalist Papers and the Constitution; wrote a total of 16 essays

Question 49

Why did the colonists want independence from Britain?

Answer 49

The buildup of British suppression of self-rule, economic punishments, and unfair trials and imprisonments made the colonists angry

Question 50

Who wrote Common Sense? Why was it important?

Answer 50

Thomas Paine; it was a widespread condemnation of British rule and an incitement toward revolution

Question 51

What is the Bill of Rights? How many rights were listed?

Answer 51

A list of “basic rights” at the end of the Constitution as amendments that the anti-federalist states required to pass the Constitution into law; 10 are written

Question 52

What is habeas corpus?

Answer 52

The inability of government to hold anyone captive for no good or proven reason

Question 53

Explain how the difference in population density might affect citizen representation in a new government.

Answer 53

Higher population density could lead to more representation due to larger urban populations; conversely, rural areas with lower density may have underrepresented voices.

Question 54

Which form of democracy might be most effective in governing a population with varied densities?

Answer 54

Pluralist democracy allows for multiple interests to be represented, accommodating diverse populations.