Multiple Choice Identify the choice that
best completes the statement or answers the question.
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Introduction
Although the American colonies were settled by people
from many nations, most of the early American settlers came from England. The English colonists
brought with them the two principles limited government and representative government . These
principles became important factors in forming the American political system . Also important were
the works of English philosophers, as well as philosophers from other parts of Europe . Much of the
political thought that has formed the way our nation governs itself originated in the theories of
these philosophers .
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1.
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Which European country had the most influence on the early Americans?
a. | France | c. | Germany | b. | Great Britain | d. | Ireland |
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2.
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What were the two main ideas brought to America from England?
a. | Limited government and representative government | c. | Communism and
Socialism | b. | Absolute government and the monarchy | d. | Limited socialism and representative military
rule |
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Limited Government
King John signs the Magna
Carta | For a long period in English
history, the king or queen had almost unlimited powers . This situation changed in 1215, when King
John was forced by his nobles to sign the Magna Carta, or great charter. This monumental
document provided for trial by a jury of one's peers, or equals . It prohibited the
taking of a person's life, liberty, and property except by the lawful judgment of that
person's peers. The Magna Carta also forced the king to obtain the nobles' approval of any
taxes he imposed on his royal subjects . Government became a contract between the king and the
nobility.
The Magna Carta's importance to England cannot be overemphasized. It
clearly established the principle of limited government-government on which strict limits are
placed, usually by a constitution. Hence, the Magna Carta ended the monarch's absolute power. It
is true that the rights provided under the Magna Carta originally applied only to the nobility.
Eventually, however, these rights would be extended to all individuals in England and in the United
States | |
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3.
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What was the main political principle of the Magna Carta?
a. | Jury trials by peers | c. | The government cannot tax without the consent of the
people | b. | The government needs to pass a law before it can deprive people of their life,
liberty or property | d. | Government was a contract between the people and the
government |
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4.
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Which statement is true?
a. | The Magna Carta only applies only to rich nobility | c. | The Magna Carta applied only to the
nobility at first but later included everyone, rich and poor | b. | In 1215 the Magna
Carta applied to poor people and the nobility | d. | The ideas of the Magna Carta no longer apply to
the modern world |
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5.
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Who signed the Magna Carta and when was it signed?
a. | 1215 King John | c. | 1200 King Arthur | b. | 1066 King John | d. | 1215 King Magna
Carta |
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6.
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Who forced the king to sign the Magna Carta?
a. | the nobles | c. | the Senate | b. | the common people | d. | the military
generals |
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| English Bill of Rights
The principle of
limited government was expanded in 1628, when King Charles I was forced to sign the Petition of
Rights . Among other things, this petition prohibited the king from imprisoning political critics
without a jury trial. Perhaps more importantly, the petition declared that even the king or queen had
to obey the law of the land. Later, King Charles I was beheaded by Oliver Cromwell for defying
Parliament.
| | |
In 1689, the English government passed the English Bill of Rights,
which further extended the concept of limited government. Several important ideas were included in
this document: The king or queen could not interfere with parliamentary
elections . | The king or queen had to have Parliament's approval to collect taxes
or to maintain an army. | The king or queen ruled with the consent of the people's
representatives in Parliament. | The people could not be subjected to cruel or unusual
punishment or to excessive fines. | |
The British colonists in North America were also British citizens,
and so they were familiar with the English Bill of Rights of 1689. Because of this, almost all the
major concepts in the English Bill of Rights became part of the American system of government and the
constitutions of most of the state governments.
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7.
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What was the main idea of the English Bill of Rights?
a. | that people deserved Social welfare programs | c. | that the king is an absolute
ruler | b. | that there are limitations on the power of the government | d. | that only common people should serve in
government |
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8.
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Which part of government had its power increased under the rule of Charles I?
a. | the court system | c. | the administrative part of the government | b. | the law making
bodies | d. | local
government |
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9.
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Which statement is true?
a. | Most Americans ignored the English Bill of Rights | c. | The English Bill of Rights were
made a part of the laws of each of the colonies | b. | Most Americans knew about the English Bill of
Rights but thought its freedoms were unattainable | d. | The English Bill of Rights only applied to rich
people in America and England |
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Representative Government
![nar004-1.jpg](gov_ch_2-1_magna_ca_files/nar004-1.jpg)
The Romans had
senators who represented them in the Roman Senate. A representative government is one in which
the people choose a limited number of individuals to make governmental decisions for all citizens .
Those chosen by the citizens are called representatives. Usually, each representative is elected to
office for a specific period of time . In England, this group of representatives is called
Parliament. Parliament consists of an upper chamber, called the House of Lords, and a lower
chamber, called the House of Commons. In the eighteenth century, the House of Commons was mostly made
up of merchants and property owners, and its members were elected by other merchants and property
owners. Thus, in England, the concept of government by and for the people had become reality. The
English system became a model by which the American colonies would govern themselves.
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10.
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What is representative government?
a. | Government where Kings and Queens represent the wishes of the people | c. | Government where
representatives are appointed for life to supply goods and services to citizens | b. | Government where
individuals are elected to represent the rest of the people | d. | Government where only rich people are
represented |
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11.
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What is the House of Commons?
a. | a law making body where members are appointed for life | c. | a law making body to which members
are elected by the people of England | b. | a place where the common people of England can
go for welfare | d. | a place in
England where common law is practiced for common people |
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12.
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What kind of government was the Roman Senate?
a. | pure democracy | c. | representative government | b. | dictatorship | d. | military dictatorship |
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Early Philosophical Influences
![nar005-1.jpg](gov_ch_2-1_magna_ca_files/nar005-1.jpg) John Locke | ![nar005-2.jpg](gov_ch_2-1_magna_ca_files/nar005-2.jpg) Thomas
Hobbes | ![nar005-3.jpg](gov_ch_2-1_magna_ca_files/nar005-3.jpg) Jean-Jacques Rousseau | Baron of Montesquieu | | | | |
Europeans were looking at the world in new ways in the 1600s
and 1700s. One area of change was political philosophy, which involves ideas about how people should
be governed. Political philosophers questioned such traditional doctrines as the divine right theory
of government. The new ideas they proposed greatly influenced American colonists . In fact, as
you will see, the ideas of these philosophers are clearly embodied in the U.S. Constitution and other
documents that outline the American philosophy of government. Influential European political
philosophers included John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Charles de Secondat, the
Baron of Montesquieu English philosopher John Locke argued that no one could be subjected to
the political power of another without his own consent . Why was this such a radical concept in
1689?
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13.
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What can we infer about the American colonists who wrote the U.S.
Constitution?
a. | they were opposed to political philosophy because most of the philosophers were
English | c. | they got there ideas about government from the French Revolution | b. | they were thoughtful
educated people who were interested in ideas | d. | they were mostly uneducated people who relied
on their instincts for ideas |
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14.
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What did John Locke believe about government?
a. | he believed in the “divine right of kings” | c. | society is more important than any
individual in it | b. | people had a duty to society to obey the government | d. | government only has the authority given to it
by the people |
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Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, and the Social Contract
It may seem
obvious to you that any government should have the consent of the governed-that is, their permission
and agreement. This notion, however, was still very new and revolutionary in the 1600s. An important
English political philosopher, John Locke (1632-1704), wrote about this issue in Two Treatises of
Government in 1689 . He argued that "no one could be subjected to the political power of
another, without his own consent." Government, therefore, was only legitimate as long as the
people continued to consent to it.
Locke further argued that all persons were born
free, equal, and independent . All persons had natural rights to life, liberty, and
property-rights that everyone possessed even before governments existed . He held that the
primary purpose of government was to protect those natural rights, and he believed that government
was really a social contract between the people and their government.
Locke theorized that
before governments existed, people lived in "a state of nature" in which they had unlimited
freedom and the right to do as they wished. In this respect, he agreed with an earlier English
philosopher, Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) . Hobbes also discussed the "state of nature"
in which people lived before governments were established. In contrast to Locke, however, Hobbes
argued that this situation led to chaos and violence because the weak could not protect themselves
against the strong. There were no natural rights . Rather, rights could be won only through
force. Life in this "free" state of nature, therefore, was "nasty, brutish, and
short."
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15.
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Who would be likely to argue that political rights come from God?
a. | Thomas Hobbs | c. | both Hobbs and Locke | b. | John Locke | d. | neither Hobbs nor
Locke |
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16.
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Which philosopher had a more negative view of human nature?
a. | Locke | c. | both Locke and Hobbs | b. | Hobbs | d. | neither Locke nor
Hobbs |
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17.
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What was John Locke likely to argue about property?
a. | The right to own property is just as important as the right to freedom and
happiness | c. | Property rights are given to people from the government so they can be free and
happy | b. | There is no right to property if it interferes with happiness | d. | The group is more important than the
individual |
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18.
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When did the “state of nature” exist for people?
a. | as a result of government | c. | before governments
existed | b. | in spite of the government | d. | there never was such a time |
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Hobbs and Rousseau
Hobbes published his landmark political study
Leviathan in 1651 . In it, he said that human beings had voluntarily agreed to create a powerful
government in order to gain security and safety. In exchange, they gave up the freedom to do as they
chose in the state of nature. They therefore owed their complete loyalty to the government that
protected them. Hobbes believed that a government in which a ruler had absolute authority would end
the conflicts waged in the natural state. Only then would people enjoy rights, such as the right to
life, liberty, or property. Few political thinkers agreed that the individual owed total loyalty to
the government. Although Hobbes's writings supported the concept of monarchy, they also
contributed to the growing idea that government was based on a negotiated agreement between the
rulers and the ruled, rather than on raw force and power.
Like Hobbes and Locke, Jean-Jacques
Rousseau (1712-1778), a French political philosopher, believed that people had once lived in a state
of nature and freedom. Since then, though, many people had come under the control of unjust rulers
who ruled at the expense of their citizens' personal freedom . In The Social Contract,
published in 1762, Rousseau wrote, "Man is born free, yet everywhere he is found in
chains." Rousseau was referring to the large number of people on the European continent
living under oppressive governments. He argued that people alone had the right to determine how they
should be governed . He proposed that because all human beings in a state of nature were born free,
the main duty of government should be to maintain as much freedom as possible in a civilized society.
This could be accomplished by allowing each person to have a say in decision making. At the same
time, each person would have to agree to submit to the "will" of the majority.
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19.
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Who is likely to argue that people are basically evil and a strong government is
needed to control them?
a. | Thomas Hobbs | c. | Jean Rousseau | b. | John Locke | d. | none of these would argue that
idea |
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20.
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Modern Liberals believe government should be big and strong to provide help to
individuals. Modern Conservatives believe that government should be as small so as not to take away
the freedom of the people. If Hobbs lived today, what would he likely be?
a. | Conservative | c. | neither Conservative nor Liberal | b. | Liberal | d. | there is no way to tell |
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21.
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Who argued that man is by nature born free?
a. | Hobbs | c. | both Hobbs and Rousseau | b. | Rousseau | d. | neither Hobbs nor Rousseau |
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22.
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Which statement is true?
a. | Both Hobbs and Rousseau were dissatisfied with the governments of their
times | c. | Hobbs was dissatisfied with the governments of his time, Rousseau was
not | b. | Neither Hobbs nor Rousseau were dissatisfied with the governments of their
times | d. | Rousseau was
dissatisfied with he governments of his time, Hobbs was not. |
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Montesquieu and the Separation of Powers
A French political
philosopher, Charles de Secondat, the Baron of Montesquieu (1689-1755), was the first political
writer to discuss dividing government into three separate branches with different duties and the
ability to act as a check on each other's power. In his book The Spirit of the
Laws, published in 1748, Montesquieu pointed out that no one person in the English government
was allowed to make the laws, enforce the laws, and interpret the laws. This partial separation of
governmental responsibilities helped to prevent the abuse of power and to protect the liberties of
English people. The framers of our Constitution not only agreed with Montesquieu, but also went even
further. They wanted to ensure that the American form of government had an even more distinct
separation of powers. In this way, they hoped that liberty would be safer in the United States than
in England.
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23.
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Why did Baron of Montesquieu want the government to be divided into separate
parts?
a. | so each part can concentrate on its area of responsibility | c. | so the government
can remain weak and ineffective | b. | so the government can acquire the power
necessary to do its job | d. | so
each part can check the power of the other parts |
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24.
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What did the framers of our constitution do about the ideas of Baron
Montesquieu?
a. | They ignored them | c. | They incorporated them into the U.S.
Constitution | b. | They accepted them but only in part | d. | They did nothing about his ideas, even though
they might have agreed with him |
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Multiple Response Identify one or more
choices that best complete the statement or answer the question.
|
|
|
Montesquieu and the Separation of Powers
A French political
philosopher, Charles de Secondat, the Baron of Montesquieu (1689-1755), was the first political
writer to discuss dividing government into three separate branches with different duties and the
ability to act as a check on each other's power. In his book The Spirit of the
Laws, published in 1748, Montesquieu pointed out that no one person in the English government
was allowed to make the laws, enforce the laws, and interpret the laws. This partial separation of
governmental responsibilities helped to prevent the abuse of power and to protect the liberties of
English people. The framers of our Constitution not only agreed with Montesquieu, but also went even
further. They wanted to ensure that the American form of government had an even more distinct
separation of powers. In this way, they hoped that liberty would be safer in the United States than
in England.
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25.
|
What two ideas did Montesquieu discuss in “The Spirit of the Laws?”
(pick 2)
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Short Answer
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Introduction
Although the American colonies were settled by people
from many nations, most of the early American settlers came from England. The English colonists
brought with them the two principles limited government and representative government . These
principles became important factors in forming the American political system . Also important were
the works of English philosophers, as well as philosophers from other parts of Europe . Much of the
political thought that has formed the way our nation governs itself originated in the theories of
these philosophers .
|
|
26.
|
What is the main idea of the reading above?
|
|
|
Limited Government
King John signs the Magna
Carta | For a long period in English
history, the king or queen had almost unlimited powers . This situation changed in 1215, when King
John was forced by his nobles to sign the Magna Carta, or great charter. This monumental
document provided for trial by a jury of one's peers, or equals . It prohibited the
taking of a person's life, liberty, and property except by the lawful judgment of that
person's peers. The Magna Carta also forced the king to obtain the nobles' approval of any
taxes he imposed on his royal subjects . Government became a contract between the king and the
nobility.
The Magna Carta's importance to England cannot be overemphasized. It
clearly established the principle of limited government-government on which strict limits are
placed, usually by a constitution. Hence, the Magna Carta ended the monarch's absolute power. It
is true that the rights provided under the Magna Carta originally applied only to the nobility.
Eventually, however, these rights would be extended to all individuals in England and in the United
States | |
|
|
27.
|
What is the main idea of this reading?
|
|
|
| English Bill of Rights
The principle of
limited government was expanded in 1628, when King Charles I was forced to sign the Petition of
Rights . Among other things, this petition prohibited the king from imprisoning political critics
without a jury trial. Perhaps more importantly, the petition declared that even the king or queen had
to obey the law of the land. Later, King Charles I was beheaded by Oliver Cromwell for defying
Parliament.
| | |
In 1689, the English government passed the English Bill of Rights,
which further extended the concept of limited government. Several important ideas were included in
this document: The king or queen could not interfere with parliamentary
elections . | The king or queen had to have Parliament's approval to collect taxes
or to maintain an army. | The king or queen ruled with the consent of the people's
representatives in Parliament. | The people could not be subjected to cruel or unusual
punishment or to excessive fines. | |
The British colonists in North America were also British citizens,
and so they were familiar with the English Bill of Rights of 1689. Because of this, almost all the
major concepts in the English Bill of Rights became part of the American system of government and the
constitutions of most of the state governments.
|
|
28.
|
What is the main idea of this reading?
|
|
|
Representative Government
![nar004-1.jpg](gov_ch_2-1_magna_ca_files/nar004-1.jpg)
The Romans had
senators who represented them in the Roman Senate. A representative government is one in which
the people choose a limited number of individuals to make governmental decisions for all citizens .
Those chosen by the citizens are called representatives. Usually, each representative is elected to
office for a specific period of time . In England, this group of representatives is called
Parliament. Parliament consists of an upper chamber, called the House of Lords, and a lower
chamber, called the House of Commons. In the eighteenth century, the House of Commons was mostly made
up of merchants and property owners, and its members were elected by other merchants and property
owners. Thus, in England, the concept of government by and for the people had become reality. The
English system became a model by which the American colonies would govern themselves.
|
|
29.
|
What is the main idea of this reading?
|
|
|
Early Philosophical Influences
![nar005-1.jpg](gov_ch_2-1_magna_ca_files/nar005-1.jpg) John Locke | ![nar005-2.jpg](gov_ch_2-1_magna_ca_files/nar005-2.jpg) Thomas
Hobbes | ![nar005-3.jpg](gov_ch_2-1_magna_ca_files/nar005-3.jpg) Jean-Jacques Rousseau | Baron of Montesquieu | | | | |
Europeans were looking at the world in new ways in the 1600s
and 1700s. One area of change was political philosophy, which involves ideas about how people should
be governed. Political philosophers questioned such traditional doctrines as the divine right theory
of government. The new ideas they proposed greatly influenced American colonists . In fact, as
you will see, the ideas of these philosophers are clearly embodied in the U.S. Constitution and other
documents that outline the American philosophy of government. Influential European political
philosophers included John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Charles de Secondat, the
Baron of Montesquieu English philosopher John Locke argued that no one could be subjected to
the political power of another without his own consent . Why was this such a radical concept in
1689?
|
|
30.
|
What is the main idea of this reading?
|
|
|
Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, and the Social Contract
It may seem
obvious to you that any government should have the consent of the governed-that is, their permission
and agreement. This notion, however, was still very new and revolutionary in the 1600s. An important
English political philosopher, John Locke (1632-1704), wrote about this issue in Two Treatises of
Government in 1689 . He argued that "no one could be subjected to the political power of
another, without his own consent." Government, therefore, was only legitimate as long as the
people continued to consent to it.
Locke further argued that all persons were born
free, equal, and independent . All persons had natural rights to life, liberty, and
property-rights that everyone possessed even before governments existed . He held that the
primary purpose of government was to protect those natural rights, and he believed that government
was really a social contract between the people and their government.
Locke theorized that
before governments existed, people lived in "a state of nature" in which they had unlimited
freedom and the right to do as they wished. In this respect, he agreed with an earlier English
philosopher, Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) . Hobbes also discussed the "state of nature"
in which people lived before governments were established. In contrast to Locke, however, Hobbes
argued that this situation led to chaos and violence because the weak could not protect themselves
against the strong. There were no natural rights . Rather, rights could be won only through
force. Life in this "free" state of nature, therefore, was "nasty, brutish, and
short."
|
|
31.
|
How were the ideas of Locke different from those of Hobbs?
|
|
|
Hobbs and Rousseau
Hobbes published his landmark political study
Leviathan in 1651 . In it, he said that human beings had voluntarily agreed to create a powerful
government in order to gain security and safety. In exchange, they gave up the freedom to do as they
chose in the state of nature. They therefore owed their complete loyalty to the government that
protected them. Hobbes believed that a government in which a ruler had absolute authority would end
the conflicts waged in the natural state. Only then would people enjoy rights, such as the right to
life, liberty, or property. Few political thinkers agreed that the individual owed total loyalty to
the government. Although Hobbes's writings supported the concept of monarchy, they also
contributed to the growing idea that government was based on a negotiated agreement between the
rulers and the ruled, rather than on raw force and power.
Like Hobbes and Locke, Jean-Jacques
Rousseau (1712-1778), a French political philosopher, believed that people had once lived in a state
of nature and freedom. Since then, though, many people had come under the control of unjust rulers
who ruled at the expense of their citizens' personal freedom . In The Social Contract,
published in 1762, Rousseau wrote, "Man is born free, yet everywhere he is found in
chains." Rousseau was referring to the large number of people on the European continent
living under oppressive governments. He argued that people alone had the right to determine how they
should be governed . He proposed that because all human beings in a state of nature were born free,
the main duty of government should be to maintain as much freedom as possible in a civilized society.
This could be accomplished by allowing each person to have a say in decision making. At the same
time, each person would have to agree to submit to the "will" of the majority.
|
|
32.
|
What was similar about the ideas of Hobbs and Rousseau?
|
|
|
Montesquieu and the Separation of Powers
A French political
philosopher, Charles de Secondat, the Baron of Montesquieu (1689-1755), was the first political
writer to discuss dividing government into three separate branches with different duties and the
ability to act as a check on each other's power. In his book The Spirit of the
Laws, published in 1748, Montesquieu pointed out that no one person in the English government
was allowed to make the laws, enforce the laws, and interpret the laws. This partial separation of
governmental responsibilities helped to prevent the abuse of power and to protect the liberties of
English people. The framers of our Constitution not only agreed with Montesquieu, but also went even
further. They wanted to ensure that the American form of government had an even more distinct
separation of powers. In this way, they hoped that liberty would be safer in the United States than
in England.
|
|
33.
|
Explain “Separation of powers”
|