American Government

Sections: Introduction | Section 1 | Section 2 | Section 3 | Section 4 | Section 5

Government : Origins : Introduction Unit 2 : Constitutional Origins The ideas behind our current government system originated many hundreds of years ago.  In the last unit we saw how the roots of democracy came from Ancient Greece.  Thinkers such as Aristotle came up with ideas about a government of and by the people.  These concepts would continue to be the ideas of philosophers for many years.  In this unit, we’ll see how the ideas of philosophers like John Locke were incorporated into what would become the United States Constitution.  This unit will trace the historical evolution of these ideas through to the ratification, or approval, of the Constitution.     Learning Objectives: Evaluate the English roots of American government. Understand the philosophy behind American democracy. Analyze the failures of the Articles of Confederation. Analyze the creation of the Constitution. Describe the process leading to the ratification of the Constitution.  Below is a list of the key terms for this unit: Antifederalist Articles of Confederation Bicameral Charter Colonies Common Sense Connecticut Compromise Declaration of Independence English Bill of Rights Enlightenment Federalist Papers Federalists Limited Government Madisonian Model Magna Carta New Jersey Plan Ordered Government Petition of Rights Proprietary Colonies Ratification Representative Government Royal Colonies Shays’ Rebellion Three-fifths Compromise Unalienable Unicameral Virginia Plan Go to next section

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