Unit 1 Foundations of American Government

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    John Trumbull Sr.

    American Revolutionary leader who as governor of Connecticut provided supplies for the Continental Army (1710-1785) Trumbull
  • John Witherspoon

    A scottish immigrant, Witherspoon became a leading member of continental congress and took part in more then 100 of its committees.
  • John Hancock

    John Hancock was an American merchant, smuggler, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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    Charles Carroll

    Charles Carroll, known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III to distinguish him from his similarly named relatives, was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early advocate of independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain
  • Benjamin Rush

    Benjamin Rush was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush was a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social reformer, educator and humanitarian.
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    John Jay

    was an American statesman, Patriot, diplomat, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, signer of the Treaty of Paris, and first Chief Justice of the United States.
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    John Peter Muhlenberg

    was an American clergyman, Continental Army soldier during the American Revolutionary War, and political figure in the newly independent United States
  • Declaration Of Independence

    States the colonists decision to separate from Britain. The Declaration Of Independence listed colonial grievances against britain.
  • U.S. Constitution

    replaced the articles of confederation.
    established a new national government.
    provided for 3 branches of government: executive with a president, legislature with a two-house congress, and judiciary with a supreme court.
  • Bill of Rights

    U.S. Bill of Rights. On September 25, 1789, Congress transmitted to the state Legislatures twelve proposed amendments to the Constitution. Numbers three through twelve were adopted by the states to become the United States (U.S.) Bill of Rights, effective December 15, 1791.
  • Fifth Amendment

    A citizen cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property without "due process of law."
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    Alexis de Tocqueville

    Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville was a French diplomat, political scientist, and historian. He was best known for his works Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution.
    Some historians have identified 5 key characteristics of American democracy that Tocqueville believed set Americans apart from Europeans: Liberty, Egalitarianism, Individualism, Populism, Laissez-faire
  • Liberty

    being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views
  • Egalitarianism

    of, relating to, or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.
  • Populism

    is a belief in the power of regular people, and in their right to have control over their government rather than a small group of political insiders or a wealthy elite.
  • Laissez-faire

    is an economic system in which transactions between private parties are free from government interference such as regulations, privileges, tariffs, and subsidies.
  • "E Pluribus Unum"

    out of many, one (the motto of the US)
  • "In God We Trust"

    "In God We Trust" first appeared on U.S. coins in 1864 and has appeared on paper currency since 1957. A law passed in a Joint Resolution by the 84th Congress (P.L. 84-140) and approved by President Dwight Eisenhower on July 30, 1956 declared IN GOD WE TRUST must appear on currency.
  • eminent domain

    the right of a government or its agent to expropriate private property for public use, with payment of compensation.