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WGU C963 American politics and US
Constitution Questions and Correct
Answers/ Latest Update / Already Graded
Social Contract
Ans: An agreement between people and government in which
citizens consent to being governed so long as the government
protects their natural rights.
Natural Rights
Ans: the idea that all humans are born with rights, which
include the right to life, liberty, and property
State of Nature
Ans: A theory on how people might have lived before societies
came into existence. is a condition in which all of us live
individually and solitarily, prior to the existence of society. We
are physically and mentally capable of achieving our own
survival.
Montesquieu (1689-1755)
Ans: contribution in The Spirit of the Laws (1748) regards the
structure of political institutions. He argues for a separation of
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
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powers: legislative, executive, and judicial. Each will serve as a
check on the power of the other, limiting the harm each might
do. separates power to offset the power of different social
interests: ordinary people, the aristocracy, and the monarch.
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679):
Ans: One of the first individuals to contribute to the idea of the
social contract was a pre-Enlightenment English philosopher.
Hobbes argues that society is not something natural and
immutable, but rather it is something created by us. We do this
to resolve problems we collectively face, to make our lives
better. State of Nature: it's "a war of all against all." Basically,
the state of nature is a pretty nasty place where lives are
perpetually insecure.
John Locke (1632-1704)
Ans: we are autonomous individuals, capable of using reason,
and are driven to advance our personal interests. Our primary
interest is survival, which we want to make secure and
comfortable. To achieve this security and comfort, we acquire
property. Two Treatises of Government, disagrees, saying the
state of nature is a relatively decent place. All its inhabitants
are rational people, mindful of the basic law of nature to not
harm another, and people will get along okay. But our
relationship in the state of nature is "inconvenient," implying an
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |3
incentive for us to devise a better, more convenient
arrangement.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
Ans: A French man who believed that humans are naturally
good and free and can rely on their instincts. He also advocate d
a democracy because he believed the government should exist
to protect common good. Like other Enlightenment thinkers,
he was passionately committed to individual freedom, but he
attacked rationalism and civilization as destroying, rather than
liberating, the individual. He also called for a rigid division of
gender roles, believing women should be subordinate in social
life. His ideals greatly influenced the early romantic movement,
which rebelled against the culture of the Enlightenment in the
late eighteenth century. Rousseau was both one of the most
influential voices of the Enlightenment and, in his rejection of
rationalism and social discourse, a harbinger of reaction against
Enlightenment ideas.
Constitution is influenced by the Enlightenment
Ans: (Separation of powers) embodies Montesquieu's
principles by separating the legislative, executive, and judicial
power, placing each into the hands of different political actors.
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |4
Bill of Rights influenced by Enlightenment
Ans: · The First Amendment gives us a definitive declaration
for the protection of natural rights. Protections of individual
conscience as well as protections for democratic participation
(John Lock ideology).
· The Second Amendment, which also embodies Lockean ideas,
permits the possession of arms for the "security of a free
State."14 In this Amendment, the right to rebellion is
established.
· Due process says all citizens are subject to fair and equitable
treatment.
· The Fourth - Eighth Amendments serve to both limit the
power government has over us and lay out procedures which
must be followed when dealing with us.
· The Ninth Amendment makes it clear that the list of rights
protected in the first eight Amendments is not exhaustive and
that we, the people, can assert additional natural rights when
we see fit (at least in theory.)
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
WGU C963 American politics and US
Constitution Questions and Correct
Answers/ Latest Update / Already Graded
Social Contract
Ans: An agreement between people and government in which
citizens consent to being governed so long as the government
protects their natural rights.
Natural Rights
Ans: the idea that all humans are born with rights, which
include the right to life, liberty, and property
State of Nature
Ans: A theory on how people might have lived before societies
came into existence. is a condition in which all of us live
individually and solitarily, prior to the existence of society. We
are physically and mentally capable of achieving our own
survival.
Montesquieu (1689-1755)
Ans: contribution in The Spirit of the Laws (1748) regards the
structure of political institutions. He argues for a separation of
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |2
powers: legislative, executive, and judicial. Each will serve as a
check on the power of the other, limiting the harm each might
do. separates power to offset the power of different social
interests: ordinary people, the aristocracy, and the monarch.
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679):
Ans: One of the first individuals to contribute to the idea of the
social contract was a pre-Enlightenment English philosopher.
Hobbes argues that society is not something natural and
immutable, but rather it is something created by us. We do this
to resolve problems we collectively face, to make our lives
better. State of Nature: it's "a war of all against all." Basically,
the state of nature is a pretty nasty place where lives are
perpetually insecure.
John Locke (1632-1704)
Ans: we are autonomous individuals, capable of using reason,
and are driven to advance our personal interests. Our primary
interest is survival, which we want to make secure and
comfortable. To achieve this security and comfort, we acquire
property. Two Treatises of Government, disagrees, saying the
state of nature is a relatively decent place. All its inhabitants
are rational people, mindful of the basic law of nature to not
harm another, and people will get along okay. But our
relationship in the state of nature is "inconvenient," implying an
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |3
incentive for us to devise a better, more convenient
arrangement.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
Ans: A French man who believed that humans are naturally
good and free and can rely on their instincts. He also advocate d
a democracy because he believed the government should exist
to protect common good. Like other Enlightenment thinkers,
he was passionately committed to individual freedom, but he
attacked rationalism and civilization as destroying, rather than
liberating, the individual. He also called for a rigid division of
gender roles, believing women should be subordinate in social
life. His ideals greatly influenced the early romantic movement,
which rebelled against the culture of the Enlightenment in the
late eighteenth century. Rousseau was both one of the most
influential voices of the Enlightenment and, in his rejection of
rationalism and social discourse, a harbinger of reaction against
Enlightenment ideas.
Constitution is influenced by the Enlightenment
Ans: (Separation of powers) embodies Montesquieu's
principles by separating the legislative, executive, and judicial
power, placing each into the hands of different political actors.
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |4
Bill of Rights influenced by Enlightenment
Ans: · The First Amendment gives us a definitive declaration
for the protection of natural rights. Protections of individual
conscience as well as protections for democratic participation
(John Lock ideology).
· The Second Amendment, which also embodies Lockean ideas,
permits the possession of arms for the "security of a free
State."14 In this Amendment, the right to rebellion is
established.
· Due process says all citizens are subject to fair and equitable
treatment.
· The Fourth - Eighth Amendments serve to both limit the
power government has over us and lay out procedures which
must be followed when dealing with us.
· The Ninth Amendment makes it clear that the list of rights
protected in the first eight Amendments is not exhaustive and
that we, the people, can assert additional natural rights when
we see fit (at least in theory.)
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
