Topic2: Foundations of Government

Benchmark 1.1=The Enlightenment Ideas and Benchmark 1.2=Core Documents

1. How did European philosophers from the 1600’s define natural rights? European philosophers describe natural rights as what
everyone was born with and could have 3 things called life, liberty, and property.
2. What is the meaning of the word “sovereign”? The word sovereign means all power should rest with them.
3. According to Montesquieu, what is the advantage of the separation of powers? The advantage of the separation of powers is that
each part of the government has its own part but we are all on equal levels.
4. Montesquieu’s view of the separation of powers was later expressed in the United States Government through which historical
document? Montesquieu’s view of the separations of power was later exposed in a document called the spirit of Laws.
5. According to John Locke’s theory of government a social contract existed between the people and which other entity? According
to John Locke’s theory of government a social contract existed between the people and their government.
6. “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” In this statement by Rousseau, what did the word “chains” represent? The
word “chains in the statement means that even if a person is born free they will never really be free because there will always be
laws.
7. “There is no greater tyranny, than that which is perpetrated under the shield of law and in the name of justice” Montesquieu
Based on Montesquieu’s quote, what is meant by the phrase “the shield of law”? The phrase “the shield of law” means that the
law protects us.
8. Based on the quote in question #9, which form of government would Montesquieu most likely prefer? Based on the quote the
type of government Montesquieu would most prefer id the democratic one.
9. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and
Happiness.” -Excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, 1776
Based on this excerpt, the Founding Fathers most likely justified their right to a new government based more closely on the beliefs
of which philosopher that we’ve learned? Based on this expert the Founding Fathers most likely justified their rights to a new
government based on the beliefs of Jean Jacques Rousseau.
10. Which lasting document limits the power of rulers and was used by the colonists has an example of what government in America
should be based on? The lasting document is Magna Carta.
11. Which document was the first written set of government in the American colonies? The document that was the first written set of
government is the Mayflower Compact.
12. Which document was published anonymously advocating that the colonists declare their independence from the British crown?
The document is Common Sense.
13. In the Magna Carta, the idea of limited government requires for the king to govern according to what? The idea of limited
government required the king to govern according on established.
14. Why did the American colonists have the rights of Englishmen? The American colonists had the rights of Englishmen because they
were still under the British monarchy.
15. The following quote, as written in the Magna Carta, “No free man shall be taken, or imprisoned…exiled, or in any way harmed…save
by the lawful judgment of his peers [equals]” What does this quote mean? The quote means that if someone hasn’t done anything
bad like a crime they shouldn’t go to prison.
16. The following quote, “In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of
the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno
Domini 1620,” This excerpt is a part of which founding document that the colonists’ experienced during their early views of
government? The excerpt is part of the document Hobbes, Locke, and Montesquieu on government.
17. What is the main impact of Baron de Montesquieu’s writings on the Founding Fathers ? Montesquieu studies of governments
helped him believe that government dishonesty was possible if a system of government didn’t have equal power. He made the
idea of a separating government possible by dividing the power into the 3 branches.
18. The passage below was published by Baron de Montesquieu in 1748.
In every government, there are three sorts of power: the legislative, the executive [and what] we may call the judiciary power . .
.When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person . . . there can be no liberty because fears may arise that the
same monarch . . . should enact tyrannical laws and execute them in a tyrannical manner. Again, there is no liberty if the judiciary not
be separated from the legislative and executive.
How did these ideas influence the Founding Fathers of the United States? Those ideas influenced the Founding Fathers by helping
them understand that if only 1 branch or 2 branches have all the power everything can turn into a big mess and that would mean
monarchy but if the power is divided into the 3 branches then there is equal power and those ideas help the Founding Fathers
understand that.
19. The passage below is from the Declaration of Independence (1776).
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Which earlier thinker influenced the reasoning of this passage? John Locke.
 The chart below describes three historic documents that influenced colonists’ views of government.

20. Which phrase completes the chart above? The Mayflower Compact was a set of rules for self-governance established by the
English settlers who traveled to the New World on the Mayflower.
21. What influence did Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776) have on the colonists? Thomas Paine’s Common Sense helped colonists
support the break from Britain. Paine also helped for there to be no monarchy and said that all people are born equal.

22.
How did Paine’s reasoning in this passage above influence the colonists’ views of government? Paine’s reasoning in this passage
rejected the monarchy government and influenced the colonists’ to believe that society was something good for the people.

Excerpt: “that it is the right of the subjects to petition the king and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal. . . “—
English Bill of Rights (1689)
23. .Explain the sentence from the excerpt above taken from the English Bill of Rights. The sentence means that you have the right to
petition or protest a king’s decision.

Benchmark 1.3=English Policies & Colonial Concerns and Benchmark 1.4=Declaration of Independence, Natural Rights &
Grievances

24. Which significant American political document was signed July 4, 1776? Declaration of Independence.
25. Which British Law required certain Colonists to allow British troops to live in their homes? The quartering act.
26. In The Declaration of Independence “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are called “unalienable”. What is the
definition of unalienable? The word unalienable means that it cannot be taken away or denied.
27. What was one immediate effect of the passage of The Stamp Act? One effect was to make colonists find out that they
have the power to go against Parliament.
28. “For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world” -List of Grievances, excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, 1776
To which British act does the above grievance make reference to? The declaration of independence.

Use the image below to answer questions 8-9. “The Bloody Massacre”; source: teachinghistory.org
 29.The image above appeared in a Boston newspaper shortly after the 1773 occurrence of the Boston Massacre. How
would you best characterize the images of the colonists in this article? I would describe them as angry because the British rule
and taxation caused them to fight for their independence since they were mad.
30.What would be one colonial advantage to referring to this event as “The Bloody Massacre”?
31. Why was the French and Indian War a critical event in American colonists’ relationship with Great Britain?
32. What was the main reason Great Britain established the Proclamation Line of 1763?
33. What was the significance of the Stamp Act?
34. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to
abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing
its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
—Declaration of Independence
What is the main idea of this paragraph?
35. The passage below is from the Declaration of Independence.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights... That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is
the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government...
Summarizes the main ideas of this passage.
36. The statement below is from the Declaration of Independence.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Based on this excerpt, what are natural rights?

The diagram below provides details about an important historical event.

37. What do all of these have in common?

38 . The chart below lists a series of British taxes on the colonists.
• Sugar Act (1764)
• Stamp Act (1765)
• Townshend Acts (1767)
• Tea Act (1773)
Why did the colonists object to these measures?