Government Chapter 2

Government Chapter 2, Part 2

Political Philosophy

Principles of government and law were developed by leading European political philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Charles Louis de Montesquieu

Political Philosophy

Their ideas can be found in the Constitution of Virginia, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the U.S

Political Philosophy

• The idea that government’s authority comes only from the consent of the governed was developed by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke

• Found in the Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution

Multiple Choice

Who believed in the idea that people had certain natural rights to life, liberty, and property?

• John Locke

• Thomas Hobbes

Political Philosophy

• The concept of a separation of powers was developed by Charles Louis de Montesquieu

• Separation of powers: the distribution of political power among the branches of government, giving each branch a particular set of responsibilities

• Found in the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of Virginia

Political Philosophy

• The charters of the Virginia Company of London extended the rights of Englishmen to the colonists

• Charter: a document that monarchs used to grant privileges to groups or individuals

• The basic rights of Englishmen were guaranteed to the colonists

Multiple Select

Jamestown was chartered by the VA Company of London in 1606 signed by King James I.

• Yes

• No

Political Philosophy

• The Declaration of Independence is an expression of the natural rights philosophies of John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau

• Rousseau believed that all men are equal

• Locke believed that government is based on an agreement between people and their rulers (a “social contract”)

• He felt that people had the right to life, liberty, and property

• Natural Right: a right that is considered to belong to all people, regardless of time or place

• Being natural to everyone, these rights do not need to be granted by a government and should not be transferred or taken away

• Natural rights are also known as inalienable rights

VA and Government

• Virginians played key roles in securing individual liberties

• The Virginia Declaration of Rights, by George Mason

• States that all Virginians should have certain rights, including freedom of religion and the press

• The basis for the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States

VA and Government

• The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, by Thomas Jefferson

• States that all people should be free to worship as they please

• The first time religious freedom was protected by law.

• The basis for the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees religious freedom

Va and Government

• James Madison, “Father of the Constitution”.

• He kept detailed notes during the Constitutional Convention

• He engineered compromises on the most difficult issues facing the delegates

Poll

Which of these is in the first amendment along with religious freedom?

• Unreasonable search and seizure

• Right to bear arms

• Freedom of speech

• Right to vote

James Madison

• Authored the “Virginia Plan,” which proposed a federal government of three separate branches (legislative, executive, and judicial) and became the foundation for the structure of the new government

• Authored much of the Bill of Rights

Multiple Choice

Who wrote the VA Declaration of Rights?

• James Madison

• Thomas Jefferson

• George Mason

• John Adams