We The People
Unit 1 Study Guide
Lesson 1:
natural rights philosophy
state of nature
law of nature
natural rights
civil rights
political rights
social contract
1. How did Locke try to establish or figure out what limitations natural law imposed on human conduct?
2. How did Locke use the idea of a “state of nature” to try to establish or figure out what the purpose of government
should be?
3. What was Locke’s view of human nature? How did it influence his ideas about what type of government is best?
4. How does the term social contract connect to the idea that government derives its authority from the consent of
the governed?
Lesson 2:
limited government
constitutional government
fundamental law
republic
democracy
5. What evidence can you identify to show that the people of the United States “consent” to be governed?
6. Does the “right of revolution” exist?
7. Can a government have a constitution, but yet not be a constitutional government?
8. Why did the framers organize the government into separate branches with shared and separate powers
9. List three examples of “checks and balances” within our governmental system.
Lesson 3:
Civic virtue
factions
representative democracy
10. Explain the term “common good.” Give an example of a rule or law that you think promotes the common good.
11. Give an example of a situation in which someone you know (or yourself) has exhibited civic virtue.
12. What did classical republicans believe the purpose of government should be?
13. What characteristics must a society possess in order for a classical republican form of government to work.
Why are these important?
14. How did James Madison adapt the ideals of classical republicanism to the large, diverse group of colonies that
became the United States? Do you think this has served our country well?
15. What is the difference between a democracy and a republic? Give an example of how the U.S. is a republic.
Lesson 4:
16. How would you describe the difference between the classical republican idea of civic virtue and Judeo-Christian
ideas of morality?
17. How did the Judeo-Christian heritage contribute to the Founders’ ideas of human rights
18. What was the “Age of Enlightenment” and why is it sometimes called the “Age of Reason?”
Lesson 5:
common law
due process of law
19. How were the “rights of the Englishmen” established?
20. How did the Magna Carta contribute to the development of constitutional government?
21. What ideas in the Constitution can be traced back to the Magna Carta?
Lesson 6:
habeas corpus
rule of law
22. How does the English Bill of Rights differ from the U.S. Bill of Rights?
Lesson 7:
23. Why was the Mayflower Compact drafted? How does it reflect the idea of government based on consent?
24. Why was the right to vote in the colonies limited to those who owned a certain amount of property?
25. What examples can you identify of written guarantees of basic rights to colonial America?
Lesson 8:
sovereignty
26. What were the colonists’ objections to the British policies toward them? What rights did the colonists claim
they violated?
27. Why was the Declaration written? What was its basic argument?
Lesson 9:
popular sovereignty
28. What basic ideas about government were contained in the new state constitutions?
29. What important ideas did the Virginia Declaration of Rights contain?
Unit One District Questions
Unit Theme: What Are the Philosophical and Historical Foundations of the American
Political System?
Question 1
How were the Founders' views about government influenced both by classical republicans and
the natural rights philosophers?
Why did classical republicans believe in limiting individual rights and promoting civic
virtue?
a. What conflicts might arise in a society that emphasizes the importance of both
individual rights and the common good?
b. Why did the classical republicans stress the need for moral education and
homogeneity?
Is classical republican philosophy relevant today? How?
Question 2
What are the fundamental characteristics of a constitutional government?
What are the essential differences between a constitutional government and an autocratic
or dictatorial government?
Describe at least five provisions of the United States Constitution that provide a means of
preventing the abuse or misuse of government power and explain how they work in our
system of government today.
Question 3
What effect did colonial experiences have on the Founders' views about rights and government?
In what ways were eighteenth-century American and British societies similar or
dissimilar in terms of rights of individual liberty, equality of opportunity, and property?
How did early state constitutions reflect colonial experiences as well as the ideas of
classical republicanism and natural rights philosophy?