1. What is the social contract and how did Enlightenment thinkers argue it should function between government and people?

1. What did Thomas Hobbes argue about human nature in a state of nature, and what solution did he propose?

2. How did John Locke's theory of natural rights differ from Hobbes's view of government?

3. What did Jean-Jacques Rousseau mean by popular sovereignty and how did it relate to the social contract?

4. Why did Montesquieu argue for separation of powers, and how did this idea influence the American founders?

1. What specific grievances and violations of rights prompted the colonists to declare independence from Britain?

2. How does the Declaration of Independence reflect Enlightenment ideas about natural rights and the consent of the governed?

3. What was the role of Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration, and what process did the Continental Congress use to finalize it?

1. Why did the Constitutional Convention meet in Philadelphia in 1787, and what was James Madison's major contribution?

2. What key roles did George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin play in shaping the Constitution?

1. How did the framers balance the need for a strong executive with the Enlightenment principle that power should not be absolute?

2. What is the separation of powers, and how does it prevent any one branch of government from becoming too powerful?

1. Why did the framers create a representative republic rather than a pure democracy, and how does it promote popular sovereignty?

2. What methods did the original Constitution establish for electing representatives, senators, and the president?

1. What are the three main forms of representative democracy and how do they differ in how citizens participate?

1. What is participatory democracy and why did the framers believe it was impractical for a large, diverse nation?

2. What opportunities for direct citizen participation exist at state and local levels in the United States?

1. How do interest groups function in a pluralist democracy and what role do they play in the policymaking process?

2. How did the framers design the Constitution to prevent any single interest from dominating government?

1. What is elite democracy and how does it assume that elected representatives are better equipped to govern than the general population?

2. Where do elite democratic elements appear in the three branches of government?

1. What central tension exists in the Constitution between participatory democracy and elite representation?

2. How do the Constitution's provisions for federalism and the separation of powers reflect different democratic models?

3. What were the main arguments of Federalists and Anti-Federalists regarding the structure of the proposed government?

4. What was the purpose of the Federalist Papers and what was the Anti-Federalist response?

1. What are ballot initiatives and referendums, and how do they allow citizens to participate directly in policymaking?

2. What types of interest groups exist in the United States and how do they influence policy?

3. How does elite dominance persist in American politics despite democratic reforms?

1. What were the fundamental differences between Federalist and Anti-Federalist views on the proper structure of government?

1. What did Federalists argue about how a strong national government and large republic would protect individual rights?

2. What is the 'mischiefs of faction' and how did Federalist No. 10 argue the Constitution would control factions?

3. How would the geographic size and diversity of the United States help prevent any single faction from dominating government?

1. What were the main Anti-Federalist concerns about the proposed Constitution and a strong central government?

2. How did Anti-Federalists argue that a large republic would make it difficult for citizens to know and hold their representatives accountable?

3. What specific constitutional powers did Anti-Federalists fear would give the federal government unlimited authority?