Vocabulary Set 3 - Violation of Natural Rights?

Question 1

Declaration of

Independence

Answer 1

It stated that the United States was a new
nation, independent of Great Britain. This
document was a response to British taxes
and other policies that many colonists
opposed.

Question 2

Declaration of
Rights and
Grievances

Answer 2

specifically said that the colonists were
loyal subjects of Great Britain and thus had
the same rights as people living in Britain.
One of these rights was the right to be
taxed only by a lawmaking body where they
were represented. Parliament had no right to
tax them, because they had no
representation there. Parliament did not
directly respond to this declaration, but it
did repeal the Stamp Act the following year.
However, it then passed other taxes, so a
conflict between Britain and the colonists
remained.

Question 3

Enlightenment

Answer 3

a movement 1600s and 1700s that
emphasized science and reason as guides to
help see the world more clearly.
Philosophers tried to use reason, not
religion, to understand the world. The idea
of human rights would come arise from this
era.

Question 4

First
Continental
Congress

Answer 4

a meeting of political leaders in the
colonies. It was held in response to the
colonists anger at British policies, especially
the Intolerable Acts. Representatives from
all 13 colonies except Georgia attended the
First Continental Congress.

Question 5

Mayflower

Compact

Answer 5

the first governing document of Plymouth
Colony.
A legal contract in which they agreed to
have fair laws to protect the general good.

Question 6

preamble

Answer 6

An introductory statement.

Question 7

representative

government

Answer 7

a system by which people elect a delegate
(person, representative) to make laws and
conduct government

Question 8

The Second
Continental
Congress

Answer 8

a meeting of political leaders that began in
Philadelphia in May 1775, and it took steps
to prepare for a larger war. Although the
group was preparing for war, it also
continued trying to resolve issues with
Great Britain by issuing the Olive Branch
Petition. In July 1776 the Congress decided
to declare independence

Question 9

social contract

Answer 9

developed during the Enlightenment, a
philosophical movement in Europe in the
1600s and 1700s. It exists between rulers
and the people they rule

Question 10

sovereignty

Answer 10

The ability of groups to govern themselves

Question 11

Thomas

Jefferson

Answer 11

the main author of the Declaration of Independence and contributed in many other ways to the early government of
the United States. As a member of Virginia’s House of Burgesses, he opposed British tax policies and believed the
American colonies should become independent from Great Britain.

Question 12

Thomas

Paine

Answer 12

a writer who inspired American colonists to break away from Great Britain. He wrote a pamphlet called Common
Sense, arguing that the colonies should become independent from Great Britain. Common Sense led many colonists
who had previously been neutral to support independence.

Question 13

tyranny

Answer 13

Abuse of power often seen in rulers with near absolute power

Question 14

unalienable

right

Answer 14

rights that people are born with and that cannot be taken away. Unalienable rights are different from civil rights, which
are rights that governments grant to people, particularly to their citizens.

Question 15

liberty

Answer 15

Freedom from the control of others.

Question 16

natural rights

Answer 16

Said to have been given by God, are
thought of as rights that all people have
from the moment they are born. These rights
generally include life, liberty, and property.