| A | B |
|---|
| natural rights | Most people in the American colonies believed that everyone had a right to life, liberty, and property. |
| John Locke | A famous English philosopher who wrote about natural rights. |
| absolute power | power without limits |
| state of nature | Life where there is no government and no laws. |
| social compact | People consent to follow laws in exchange for the protection that these laws would give them. |
| Roman Republic | Ancient European government which greatly influenced the ideas of the Founders. |
| aristocrats | wealthy upper class people |
| republican government | The citizens give power to leaders they elect to represent them and to serve their interests. |
| civic virtue | Citizens and their leaders live modest lives and they put the common welfare above their own selfish interests. |
| Separation of powers | Separate the powers of government among the different branches, or parts, of the government so that no one branch would have all the power. |
| Checks and balances | Give each branch ways to check the use of power by the other branches. |
| constitution | A framework for government |
| constitutional government | A nation has a constitutional government when the powers of the person or group running the government are limited. |
| autocratic government | a government of unlimited power |
| higher law | Law that has to be obeyed by the people running the government. |
| private domain | an area of an individual's life that is no business of the government. |
| legislative branch | power to make laws |
| executive branch | power to carry out and enforce laws |
| judicial branch | interprets the law |
| veto | refuse to sign a bill into law |
