Early Influences on American Government

Question 1

Socrates

Answer 1

Socrates (~470 B.C.E. to 399 B.C.E.), was one of the most influential philosophers in history and is best known for his development of the Socratic Method.

Question 2

Plato

Answer 2

Plato (420s to the 340s B.C.E) was a philosopher in Classical Greece and the founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. He was a pupil of Socrates and was concerned with understanding the true, objective nature of reality, a branch of philosophy called metaphysics. He is famous for “Theory of Forms” and “Republic”.

Question 3

Plato’s Theory of Forms

Answer 3

The Theory of Forms or Theory of Ideas is a viewpoint attributed to Plato, which holds that non-physical (but substantial) forms (or ideas) represent the most accurate reality. According to this theory, ideas in this sense, often capitalized and translated as “Ideas” or “Forms”, are the non-physical essences of all things, of which objects and matter in the physical world are merely imitations.

Question 4

Plato’s “The Republic”, “The Laws”, and Mixed Government.

Answer 4

Plato wrote about the importance of mixed government, an idea that is fundamental to both the development of the separation of powers and the Constitution. In “The Republic” he lists the pros and cons of oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny and concludes in his later work, “The Laws”, that a mixed government of three elements is the best option.

Question 5

Aristotle

Answer 5

Aristotle (384 to 322 B.C.E.) was a pupil of Plato, and many of his ideas centered around matter and motion. In this way, Aristotle’s views were considerably scientific. In regard to politics, Aristotle conceived of the city as being the natural political entity and the center of political activity. The purpose of the city was to enable citizens to lead a good, fulfilling life.

Question 6

Aristotle, “The Politics”, and Separation of Powers.

Answer 6

Aristotle further developed Plato’s mixed government and developed the idea of the separation of powers. Aristotle believed that all forms of government declined and evolved into different political forms. Monarchy (tyranny) is replaced by aristocracy (oligarchy). Aristocracy is replaced by democracy. Democracy would revert back to Monarchy. He concludes, in “The Politics” that in a mixed government there should be separation of powers between three branches, each representing the aforementioned forms of government.

Question 7

Cicero

Answer 7

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 B.C. to 43 B.C.E) was a Roman philosopher, politician, lawyer, orator, political theorist, consul, and constitutionalist.

Question 8

Cicero’s Influence European and American Government

Answer 8

Cicero’s greatest achievement is his attitude towards natural law which can be seen as the foundation of later European natural law theories on the concept of inalienable rights. His thoughts on constitutionalism was also influential.

Question 9

Renaissance

Answer 9

The Renaissance is a term used to describe the revival of classical Greek and Roman ideas and culture that took place between the 14th and the 17th centuries in Europe.

Question 10

Age of Enlightenment

Answer 10

The Age of Enlightenment was an intellectual movement which dominated the world of ideas in Europe in the 18th century. It was humanity’s growth into intellectual maturity. Kant and others claimed that, through scientific inquiry and an emphasis on reasoned discussion, mankind was finally able to think for itself rather than appealing to the authority of the Church, Greek philosophers, or other sources of supposedly revealed truths. Sociocultural constructs created or revived during this movement where freedom of the press, the rule of law, the health of dissent, pluralism, and tolerance.

Question 11

Social Contract Theory

Answer 11

In both moral and political philosophy, the social contract is a theory or model that originated during the Age of Enlightenment and usually concerns the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual. Social contract arguments typically posit that individuals have consented, either explicitly or implicitly, to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the ruler (or to the decision of a majority) in exchange for protection of their remaining rights. It was a complete 180 in how monarchies were viewed up until this point. Many 18th-century writers based their political philosophy on this idea, such as Thomas Hobbes and John Locke.

Question 12

Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert

Answer 12

They undertook an enormous project attempting to document industrial innovation, discoveries in natural science, and all knowledge in general. This project resulted in a wildly successful book, the Encyclopédie, first published in the 1750s.

Question 13

Encyclopédie

Answer 13

Encyclopédie was an enormous project by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert first published in the 1750s attempting to document industrial innovation, discoveries in natural science, and all knowledge in general.

Question 14

Baron de Montesquieu

Answer 14

Baron de Montesquieu’s (1689-1755) abhorrence of despotism and governmental corruption caused him to create the philosophical justification for a common feature of modern Western government: The separation of powers and the checks and balances system. These were meant to keep one branch of government from getting more powerful than another. (See also: Aristotle, “The Politics”, and Separation of Powers.)

Question 15

David Hume

Answer 15

David Hume (1711-1776) was essentially Voltaire’s philosophical adversary. While Hume believed in the importance of empiricism, he denied the existence of any knowledge that didn’t place the human experience at the center of reality. He argued that a person’s personal experiences are as close as one can hope to get to the true reality of existence.

Question 16

Voltaire

Answer 16

Voltaire’s (1694-1778) unbending skepticism and wit, and his opposition to fanatics and metaphysicists, make his own personal philosophy hard to pinpoint. It’s probably what makes him the quintessential Enlightenment philosopher. That said, Voltaire believed strongly in personal liberties versus the power of the state as well as the virtues of empirical science. Known for his satirical 1759 novel, “Candide”.

Question 17

Thomas Hobbes

Answer 17

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy influenced by the English Civil War (1642–1651). While he believed in the social contract theory, he believed the only form of government strong enough to hold humanity’s cruel impulses in check was absolute monarchy, where a king wielded supreme and unchecked power over his subjects. This can be seen in his landmark work ‘Leviathan’.

Question 18

‘Leviathan’ by Thomas Hobbes

Answer 18

Leviathan is a book written by Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) and published in 1651 (revised Latin edition 1668). Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan. The work concerns the structure of society and legitimate government, and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. Leviathan ranks as a classic Western work on statecraft comparable to Machiavelli’s The Prince. Written during the English Civil War (1642–1651), Leviathan argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. Hobbes wrote that civil war and the brute situation of a state of nature (“the war of all against all”) could only be avoided by strong, undivided government.

Question 19

English Civil War

Answer 19

The English Civil War (1642-1651) was a series of extremely violent armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists over, principally, the manner of England’s government. The Parliamentarians won and, constitutionally, the wars established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without Parliament’s consent, although the idea of Parliament as the ruling power of England was only legally established as part of the Glorious Revolution in 1688. This extremely bloody and chaotic war highly influenced the thinking of Thomas Hobbes.

Question 20

John Locke

Answer 20

John Locke (1632-1704) was an English Enlightenment philosopher who is often considered the ‘Father of Classical Liberalism’. In his ‘An Essay Concerning Human Understanding’ (1689) he formulated the concept of tabula rasa, meaning ‘blank slate’. In his ‘Two Treatises of Government’ (1689), he argued [first treatise] that no monarchy had a divine right to exist and kings held power by the luck of their birth. He then argued [second treatise] for his version of the social contract theory, which means the relationship between government and the governed is a binding ‘contract’ agreed to by both parties (enlightened absolutism). He believed that humans, when placed in a natural state, were generally good and wise. His thinking was influence by the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

Question 21

Glorious Revolution of 1688

Answer 21

English Protestant parliamentarians forced Catholic James II to abdicate the English throne in favor of William of Orange and his royal English wife, Mary Stuart. The revolution permanently established Parliament as the ruling power of England with the English Bill of Rights. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 also influenced the thinking of John Locke.

Question 22

Classical Liberalism

Answer 22

Classical liberalism is a political ideology and a branch of liberalism developed in the early 19th century which advocates civil liberties under the rule of law with an emphasis on economic freedom. Closely related to economic liberalism. A notable individual whose ideas contributed to classical liberalism include John Locke. It drew on the classical economic ideas espoused by Adam Smith in ‘Book I’ of ‘The Wealth of Nations’ and on a belief in natural law, utilitarianism, and progress.

Question 23

Deism

Answer 23

Deism is a philosophical belief held by many Americans during the Enlightenment that posits god exists and is ultimately responsible for the creation of the universe, but does not interfere directly with the created world.

Question 24

republicanism

Answer 24

The American version of republicanism combines concepts of reason, enlightened government, religious tolerance, and natural rights. (See U.S. Constitution - Article 4 - Section 4)

Question 25

Immanuel Kant

Answer 25

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) was a German philosopher during the Enlightenment era of the late 18th century. His best known work is the Critique of Pure Reason. He created ‘Transcendental Idealism’ that synthesized empiricism (Hume) and rationalism (Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz). See also: Kantian Political Thought.

Question 26

Kantian Political Thought

Answer 26

Kant’s political thought can be summarized as republican government and a world of constitutional republics. He believed that universal history leads to the ultimate world of republican states at peace. He opposed ‘democracy’, which at his time meant direct democracy, believing that majority rule posed a threat to individual liberty. As with most writers at the time, he distinguished three forms of government i.e. democracy, aristocracy, and monarchy with mixed government as the most ideal form of it.

Question 27

mercantilism

Answer 27

A system in which Britain controlled the production and trade of colonial goods. Usually, the colonists were only allowed to produce raw materials, which Britain then turned into finished products and sold back to the colonists at a higher price. Through heavy taxes, Britain prevented the colonists from trading with other nations.

Question 28

First Continental Congress

Answer 28

The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies who met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. It was called in response to the Intolerable Acts passed by the British Parliament, which the British referred to as the Coercive Acts, with which the British intended to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. The Congress met briefly to consider options, including an economic boycott of British trade and drawing up a list of rights and grievances; in the end, they petitioned King George III for redress of those grievances. The Congress also called for another Continental Congress in the event that their petition was unsuccessful in halting enforcement of the Intolerable Acts.

Question 29

Second Continental Congress

Answer 29

As war broke out in the colonies, the delegates met again and formed the Second Continental Congress in 1775 to organize a single army to fight the British and formally declare independence. This Congress was the first government over all 13 former colonies. The Congress acted as the de facto national government of the United States by raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and making formal treaties such as the Olive Branch Petition.

Question 29

Articles of Confederation

Answer 29

Articles of Confederation, first U.S. constitution (1781–89), which served as a bridge between the initial government by the Second Continental Congress of the Revolutionary period and the federal government provided under the U.S. Constitution of 1787. Because the experience of overbearing British central authority was vivid in colonial minds, the drafters of the Articles deliberately established a confederation of sovereign states. The Articles were written in 1776–77 and adopted by the Congress on Nov. 15, 1777. However, the document was not fully ratified by the states until March 1, 1781.

Question 31

Congress of the Confederation

Answer 31

The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America that existed from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789. It governed under the newly adopted Articles of Confederation.