American Politics and the
US Constitution - C963
WGU Questions with
Complete Solutions
Graded A+
Denning [Date] [Course title]
,natrual rights - Answer: Life, Liberty, and Property
John Locke - Answer: 17th century English philosopher who opposed the Divine Right of Kings and who
asserted that people have a natural right to life, liberty, and property.
State of Nature - Answer: Hypothetical condition assumed to exist in the absence of government where
human beings live in "complete" freedom and general equality.
Due Process - Answer: involves the government's obligation to treat all citizens fairly. Such a
requirement lessens the extent to which government power can be exercised over the individual,
making the power differential between the two more fair, and ensuring a general sense of political
equality
Social Contract - Answer: A voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by
creating a government and abiding by its rules.
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) - Answer: One of the first individuals to contribute to the idea of the social
contract was a pre-Enlightenment English philosopher
Leviathan (1651): Thomas Hobbes - Answer: Hobbes argues that society is not something natural and
immutable, but rather it is something created by us.
Labor Movement - Answer: the formation of labor unions, during the 1880's, for the workers to receive
better treatment by
Constitution - Answer: A document which spells out the principles by which a government runs and the
fundamental laws that govern a society
Bill of Rights - Answer: The first ten amendments to the Constitution
Declaration of Independence - Answer: the document recording the proclamation of the second
Continental Congress (4 July 1776) asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain
,Thomas Jefferson - Answer: Wrote the Declaration of Independence
Shays's Rebellion (1786-1787) - Answer: which almost resulted in potential mob rule, suggested there
might be too much democracy at play, and that maybe individual liberty was going too far
Articles of Confederation - Answer: A weak constitution that governed America during the
Revolutionary War.
Federalist no. 51 - Answer: Argues that separation of powers within the national government is the best
way to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of one person or a single group.
First Amendment - Answer: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of
the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Second Amendment - Answer: Right to keep and bear arms
Third Amendment - Answer: The government may not house soldiers in private homes without consent
of the owner
Forth Amendment - Answer: It protects people against unfair searches of their homes; search and
seizure.
Fifth Amendment - Answer: A constitutional amendment designed to protect the rights of persons
accused of crimes, including protection against double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and punishment
without due process of law.
Sixth Amendment - Answer: Right to a speedy and public trial
Seventh Amendment - Answer: Right to a trial by jury in civil cases
Eighth Amendment - Answer: No cruel and unusual punishment
, Nineth Amendment - Answer: peoples rights are not just limited to those listed in the Constitution and
Bill of Rights
Tenth Amendment - Answer: Amendment stating that the powers not delegated to the federal gov. are
reserved to the states
bicameral legislature - Answer: A law making body made of two houses (bi means 2). Example: Congress
(our legislature) is made of two house - The House of Representatives and The Senate.
House of Representatives - Answer: the lower house of Congress, consisting of a different number of
representatives from each state, depending on population
New Jersey Plan - Answer: Proposal to create a weak national government
Virginia Plan - Answer: Proposal to create a strong national government
Constitutional Convention - Answer: Meeting in 1787 of the elected representatives of the thirteen
original states to write the Constitution of the United States.
Three-Fifths Compromise - Answer: Agreement that each slave counted as three-fifths of a person in
determining representation in the House for representation and taxation purposes (negated by the 13th
amendment)
Checks and Balances - Answer: A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of
the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power
Separation of Powers - Answer: Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and
judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law,
and the judiciary interpreting the law
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