1. SS Study Guide
Lauren

2. Unit 1, Lesson 1

3. Q: In what ways were the people's lives in the British colonies of the 1770s different from those of people living in Europe?

4. A:
Colonial families worked harder and had higher living standards
They had better land for crops, so they had a healthier diet than people in Europe.
They were better educated than Europeans. Four times as many newspapers were published in the colonies than in France.
The colonists were more diverse.

5. Q: What diversity of people and ideas existed in the British colonies in the 1770s?

6. A:
1/5 of the population were African slaves. The other part of the population were mostly of British and Irish descent. Others came from the Netherlands, Spain, France, Germany, and Sweden.
They all had different religious beliefs and had different ideas about governments and rights.

7. Q: What difference did gender, race, and wealth make to people in the colonial society?

8. A:
1. Wealth did not make much of a difference in the colonies. If you were smart and skillful, you could have the opportunities to become wealthy. Men who were poor were elected to government positions.
2. Gender and race did make a difference. Only adult white males who owned property could vote. A person had to own fifty acres of land to be able to vote, but there was a lot of land.
3. Native Americans, blacks, women, and white men without property weren’t allowed to vote. Women were not allowed to own property because couples were considered one person and the husband controlled the property.

9. Q: What rights did the colonists value?

10. A:
Freedom:
1. Freedom of beliefs
2. Right to own property
3. Right to trial by jury
Note: The British tried to limit those rights before the American Revolution.

11. Q: Who were the Founders?

12. A:
– the political leaders of the colonies
– led the fight to free America from British rule
– created state governments and helped write the Constitution
Note: Some of the Founders were
1. Ben Franklin 2. John and Abigail Adams
3. Patrick Henry 4. Thomas Jefferson
5. Mercy Otis Warren 6. George Washington

13. Unit 1, Lesson 1
Terms to Understand

14. Q: What are Founders?

15. A: The political leaders of the colonies.

16. Q: What is government?

17. A: The people/institutions with the authority to make and enforce the laws and manage disputes about the laws.

18. Q: What are indentured servants?

19. A: Men and women who sold their labor in exchange for the cost of a trip from Europe to the colonies.

20. Q: What does it mean to be self-sufficient?

21. A: People had to provide for their own needs
A: People had to provide for their own needs. (Make clothes, grow food, etc.)

22. Q: What does it mean to be a subject?

23. A: To be a person under the rule of a monarch.

24. Unit 1, Lesson 2

25. Q: What are natural rights? How do people get their natural rights?

26. A:
Natural rights are the rights to life, liberty, and property. John Locke wrote in his book that they are the rights to life and are part of the law of nature. All people should have the rights to life, liberty, and property because they are human beings.

27. Q: What might life be like living in a state of nature? Explain.

28. A:
If the world was in a state of nature, I think that living would be chaos. Laws prevent people from harming others, and punish people who do. If there was a murderer loose around the place where you live, it would be every family for themselves for protection against threats. We would not have evolved as much and would not be civilized.

29. Q: Where does government get its right to govern, according to the natural rights philosophy?

30. A:
The government gets it right to govern from the consent of the people. Locke said that the only way for people to get the right to govern anyone else is if the people who are being governed give their consent.

31. Q: What is a social contract?

32. A:
– an agreement in which each individual agrees with others to create and live under a government and give that government the power to make and enforce laws.
– The people promise to give up the absolute right to do anything they want to do. In return, they receive the security provided by the government.

33. Q: What is the main purpose of government according to John Locke?

34. A:
To protect the natural rights that individuals cannot effectively protect in a state of nature.

35. Unit 1, Lesson 2
Terms to Understand

36. Q: What does Consent mean?

37. A: To approve of or allow something to take place.

38. Q: What are natural rights?

39. A: The certain inalienable rights that all human beings have to life, liberty, and property.

40. Q: What is the purpose of government?

41. A: To protect the people's natural rights.

42. Q: What is a social contract?

43. A: An agreement in which each individual agrees with others to create and live under a government and give that government the power to make and enforce laws.

44. Q: What is a state of nature?

45. A: A condition in which no government or laws exist.

46. Unit 1, Lesson 3

47. Q: What is republican government?

48. A:
A republican government is a type of government in which:
– citizens have the power to govern
– citizens have the freedom to entrust power to leaders and to elect people to represent them
– citizens and representatives work cooperatively to promote the common welfare

49. Q: What are the advantages of republican government?

50. A:
– representatives are elected to serve the common good and to speak for the citizens
– people have a say in their government and have the freedom to speak out and be heard
– representatives make laws more efficient because they can make the laws faster and better

51. Q: What are the disadvantages of republican government?

52. A:
– republican government works best in small communities, while the colonies were very large
– people in a republic had to be alike. The people would not have much difference in wealth, moral beliefs, or ways of life.
– people in a large diverse republic would divide into factions and could possibly work against other groups or the people instead of for the common good

53. Q: What is the difference between direct democracy and representative democracy?

54. A: Direct democracy: the people control government, create the laws for their community. Works best in small communities, because if they’re too large, there are too many different opinions and it becomes hard to make decisions working towards the common good.
A representative democracy is a government where representatives chosen by the people make the laws and administer them. The government is a democracy that receives its right to govern from the people.

55. Q: What is civic virtue? Why is it important that citizens and their representatives have civic virtue?

56. A:
Civic virtue: both the citizens and their leaders willingly set aside their personal interests for the common good.
It is important for the citizens and their representatives to have civic virtue because people tend to act by their self-interests and demote the common good. There would also be more disagreements in government if people only are interested in themselves.

57. Q: How were the values of republican government promoted in the colonies? Why were these values promoted?

58. A:
– Parents taught the values to their children, teachers taught the values in their schools, and clergy taught them in sermons and writings
– The values were promoted because citizens were expected to set good examples for others and the values were a part of the customs and traditions of the people.
– the Founders thought it was important because they believed that the Roman Republic failed because its citizens lost their civic virtue.

59. Unit 1, Lesson 3
Terms to Understand

60. Q: What are Aristocrats?

61. A: the wealthy upper class

62. Q: What is civic virtue?

63. A: Both citizens and their leaders are willing to set aside their private interests for the common good

64. Q: What is the common good?

65. A: That which is good for the community as a whole

66. Q: What's a delegate?

67. A: A person sent to represent others

68. Q: What is a direct democracy?

69. A: a democracy in which the people control government, make laws, and make decisions. They work best in small communities.

70. Q: What are factions?

71. A: Interest groups

72. Q: What is a representative?

73. A: A person elected by the people to speak and act for them

74. Q: What is a representative democracy?

75. A: a democracy in which the people choose leaders to make and administer the laws for the country

76. Q: What's a republic?

77. A: a country that has a government in which power is held by the people who elect representatives

78. Q: What's a republican government?

79. A: a type of government where:
– citizens have the power to govern
– citizens delegate or entrust their power to leaders they elect to represent them and to serve their interests
– citizens and their representatives work cooperatively to promote the common good rather than their own interests

80. Unit 1, Lesson 4

81. Q: What is a constitution
Q: What is a constitution? What can you learn about a nation's government by studying their constitution?

82. A:
A constitution is a legal framework for government. By studying a nation’s constitution, you can find out how that nation’s government is organized and run. You can also learn about how the people play a part in the government and about the citizens in the nation.

83. Q: Explain the difference between a constitutional government and an autocratic or dictatorial government.

84. A:
Constitutional government: a government with limits on the powers of the person/group running the government, so the government doesn’t have the freedom to do whatever it wants to
Autocratic or dictatorial government: a government with no limits to power, and if it has limits, these limits are not enforced.

85. Q: What are the characteristics that define a constitution as "higher law"?

86. A: A higher law is a set of laws that limit and establish the power of the government. All of the government leaders and the people have to obey the higher law. The people who run the government must do what the constitution says.

87. Q: Identify an area of private life in which you think government should not interfere.

88. A:
religion

89. Unit 1, Lesson 4
Terms to Understand

90. Q: What's an autocratic or dictatorial government?

91. A:
a government with either no limits on power or with limits that are not enforced

92. Q: What is a constitution?

93. A:
A legal framework for government

94. Q: What is a constitutional government?

95. A:
a government with limits on the powers of the person or group running the government

96. Q: What does "higher law" mean?

97. A:
A set of laws that establish and limit the power of government. The people in the government must follow the laws.

98. Q: What are limits?

99. A: things that government may not do or actions they may not take

100. Q: What is a monarchy?

101. A:
A form of government in which political power is held by a single ruler such as a king or queen

102. Q: What is private domain?

103. A:
The part of a person's life that is not the business of the government