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Civics Unit 1: Foundations of government

American government grew from Enlightenment ideas, English traditions and colonial experience, expressed in the Declaration of Independence.

Covers: Purposes of government, forms of government, Enlightenment ideas, English roots, colonial self-government, the Declaration of Independence

Study guide

Government is the institution through which a society makes and enforces public policy. Its purposes include keeping order, providing security, offering public services and protecting rights. Forms of government include autocracy (rule by one, like an absolute monarchy or dictatorship), oligarchy (rule by a small group) and democracy (rule by the people). In a direct democracy, citizens vote on laws themselves; in a representative democracy, or republic, they elect officials to make laws. The United States is a constitutional republic.

Enlightenment thinkers shaped American ideas. John Locke argued that people have natural rights to life, liberty and property, that government rests on the consent of the governed, and that people can change a government that violates their rights. Thomas Hobbes described a social contract in which people give up some freedom for order. Montesquieu proposed separating government into branches, and Rousseau emphasized popular sovereignty, the idea that power comes from the people. English traditions also mattered: the Magna Carta (1215) limited the king's power and established that rulers must follow the law, the English Bill of Rights (1689) protected rights such as petitioning the government, and Parliament showed representative government at work.

The colonies practiced self-government through the Virginia House of Burgesses (1619), the first representative assembly in the colonies, and the Mayflower Compact (1620), an agreement to form a self-governing community. After the French and Indian War, Britain taxed the colonists without their representation in Parliament, through acts like the Stamp Act, causing protest. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence, written mainly by Thomas Jefferson and adopted on July 4, announced independence. It states that all men are created equal with unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, that governments get their power from the consent of the governed, and it lists grievances against King George III.

The rule of law means that everyone, including government leaders, must obey the law. Laws are applied equally and fairly, and no one is above them. Colonists came to America for religious freedom, political liberty, economic opportunity and to escape persecution. American Indians (Native Americans) already lived throughout the land. Enslaved Africans were brought against their will.

In a market (capitalist, free enterprise) economy, individuals and businesses own resources and make most economic decisions. In a command economy, the government makes those decisions. The US has a mixed, mostly free-market economy with some government regulation. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution share core ideas: equality, natural rights, liberty, limited government, self-government and the social contract. Government's power comes from the consent of the people.

Key ideas

• Government keeps order, provides security and services, and protects rights.
• The US is a representative democracy, or republic.
• Locke's natural rights and consent of the governed shaped the Declaration.
• The Magna Carta and English Bill of Rights limited rulers' power.
• The Declaration of Independence (1776) explained why the colonies broke away.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Thinking the US is a direct democracy; it's a representative democracy (republic).
• Thinking the Declaration of Independence set up the government; the Constitution did.

Words to know

Government

The institution that makes and enforces public policy.

Autocracy

Rule by a single person.

Oligarchy

Rule by a small group.

Direct democracy

Citizens vote on laws themselves.

Representative democracy

Citizens elect officials to make laws.

Republic

A government in which people elect representatives.

Natural rights

Rights people have by nature, like life, liberty and property.

Consent of the governed

Government's power comes from the people.

Social contract

People give up some freedom to government in exchange for order.

Popular sovereignty

The idea that power comes from the people.

Magna Carta

1215 document limiting the English king's power.

English Bill of Rights

1689 document protecting rights and limiting the monarch.

House of Burgesses

Virginia's colonial representative assembly, created in 1619.

Mayflower Compact

1620 agreement by Pilgrims to govern themselves.

Declaration of Independence

1776 document announcing independence from Britain.

Unalienable rights

Rights that can't be taken away.

Sample practice questions

5 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.