Key Philosophers to Know

*Montesquieu -- Separation of Powers; Checks & Balances

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*Locke -- Unalienable rights (life, liberty, property); gov't can't take them away

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*Rousseau -- Social contract; consent of the governed

We've already covered the ideas of Locke & Montesquieu, but our government has been influenced by many ideas & people of the Enlightenment.

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Look over the chart to see what other ideas have impacted our government.​

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​Influential Ideas on Government

Principles to know:

*Separation of Powers -- 3 separate branches of government to prevent tyranny of any one branch

*Popular Sovereignty -- the power comes from the people

*Limited Government -- so the gov't cannot take advantage of citizens' freedoms / rights, there are limits on what the gov't can do

Principles to know:

*Checks & Balances -- ensures no branch goes beyond their limits of power, keeps each branch in line

*Federalism -- power is "shared" by the federal (national) and state governments

From Articles to Constitution

*The Articles of Confederation -- our first attempt at a government after the American Revolution --> not effective as it created a weak government that did not have enough power to control and protect the states.

From Articles to Constitution

The Articles of Confederation --

*did not have a national executive or judicial branch

*no power to raise a national army

* no power to collect taxes

*no power to enforce the laws

It was clear that a new structure of government was needed -- and the Constitution was created.

From Articles to Constitution

The Constitution --

*created 3 separate branches at the federal level

*strengthened the power of the federal government

*fixed many of the issues that were found in the Articles of Confed.

There was a fierce debate over whether the Constitution did enough to limit the national gov't power & protect citizens...

Federalists vs.

Anti-Federalists

Federalists --> in favor of Constitution "as is," wanted a strong national gov't, felt that citizens' rights were inherently protected WITHOUT having to have a Bill of Rights added

Federalists vs.

Anti-Federalists

Anti-Federalists--> rejected the need for the Constitution, just wanted to change parts of the Articles; afraid of a strong national gov't as they thought it would infringe on the liberties of the people; advocated for the addition of the Bill of Rights to ensure citizens' rights would be protected

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