Key Terms
Natural rights
God-given rights to life, liberty, and property. Cannot be taken by any government.
Social contract
Agreement between people and government. Citizens consent to be governed in exchange for protection of their natural rig
Property rights / the commons
Anyone who works the land can claim it. The only limit — you can't take so much that others lose their right to do the s
Virtual representation
Britain's argument that Parliament represented all British subjects, even those who couldn't vote. Colonists rejected th
First Continental Congress
Formed by delegates from all colonies except Georgia in response to the Coercive Acts. Created a unified opposition; iss
Declaration of Independence
Written by Thomas Jefferson. Grounded in Locke's ideas — natural rights, social contract, the right to dissolve a govern
Republic
Government where political power rests with the people; exercised through elected representatives.
Confederation
Sovereign states form a union for limited shared purposes. States retain primary power.
Powers Congress DID have
Declare war, make treaties, coin money, borrow money, settle disputes between states, exchange ambassadors.
Virginia Plan
Two-house legislature; representation by population in both houses.
New Jersey Plan
One-house legislature; equal representation per state.
Great Compromise (Roger Sherman of Connecticut)
Two-house Congress.
Three-Fifths Compromise
Enslaved people counted as three-fifths of a person for both representation and taxation.
Solution
Federal system — power divided between national government and states.
Reserved powers
Powers not given to the federal government; belong to the states.