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WGU C963 AMERICAN POLITICS & US CONSTITUTION
FINAL EXAM 2026/2027 | Grade A Verified | Complete
Solutions | Pass Guaranteed - A+ Graded
Section 1: Enlightenment Philosophers & Social Contract
Theory (Questions 1-12)
Question 1
In John Locke's Second Treatise of Government, which three natural rights are
inherent to all individuals in the state of nature and cannot be surrendered to
government?
A. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
B. Life, liberty, and property
C. Equality, fraternity, and security
D. Speech, religion, and assembly
Correct Answer: B. Life, liberty, and property [CORRECT]
Rationale: Locke identified life, liberty, and property as fundamental natural rights
that preexist government. The "pursuit of happiness" is Jefferson's modification in
the Declaration of Independence. Equality and fraternity reflect Rousseau and French
revolutionary ideals, while speech, religion, and assembly are constitutional
protections, not Locke's natural rights triad.
Correct Answer: B
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Question 2
Thomas Hobbes argues that without a sovereign authority, the state of nature
devolves into a "war of every man against every man." What is the primary
motivation that drives individuals to leave the state of nature and form the social
contract?
A. Pursuit of wealth and economic prosperity
B. Fear of violent death and desire for self-preservation
C. Religious obligation to establish divine monarchy
D. Natural inclination toward democratic equality
Correct Answer: B. Fear of violent death and desire for self-preservation
[CORRECT]
Rationale: Hobbes's Leviathan posits that the absolute sovereign is justified by the
individual's rational fear of violent death in the state of nature. Self-preservation is
the foundational drive; economic prosperity and religious obligation are secondary
or irrelevant in Hobbes's mechanistic framework, and democratic equality contradicts
his absolutist solution.
Correct Answer: B
Question 3
Jean-Jacques Rousseau distinguishes between the "will of all" and the "general will."
Which statement best captures the "general will" in The Social Contract?
A. The aggregate of private interests and individual preferences
B. What is best for the community as a whole, even if it contradicts individual desires
C. The expressed preferences of the majority in a representative legislature
D. The monarch's divine right to rule according to natural law
Correct Answer: B. What is best for the community as a whole, even if it
contradicts individual desires [CORRECT]
Rationale: Rousseau's general will aims at the common good and may override
particular private interests (the will of all). It is not merely majority preference or
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representative legislation, and it explicitly rejects monarchical divine right in favor of
popular sovereignty and direct democratic participation.
Correct Answer: B
Question 4
Baron de Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws most directly influenced which
structural feature of the United States Constitution?
A. The establishment of a unitary national government
B. The tripartite separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers
C. The creation of a hereditary legislative chamber
D. The concentration of all powers in a single elected assembly
Correct Answer: B. The tripartite separation of legislative, executive, and judicial
powers [CORRECT]
Rationale: Montesquieu advocated dividing government into three branches to
prevent tyranny, a principle Madison explicitly adopted in Federalist No. 47. The
Constitution rejects unitary government, hereditary chambers (except indirect
election originally), and concentration of powers, all of which Montesquieu warned
against.
Correct Answer: B
Question 5
A government systematically confiscates private property without compensation,
imprisons citizens without trial, and suppresses all political opposition. According to
John Locke, what right do the people retain when government violates the social
contract?
A. The right to request mediation from a neighboring sovereign
B. The right to revolution and establishment of new government
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C. The duty to submit because sovereignty is absolute
D. The obligation to wait for the next scheduled election
Correct Answer: B. The right to revolution and establishment of new government
[CORRECT]
Rationale: Locke argues that when government breaches the trust of the people by
systematically violating natural rights, the people possess the right to dissolve that
government and institute a new one. This contrasts with Hobbes's absolutism (option
C) and reflects Locke's conditional view of governmental legitimacy.
Correct Answer: B
Question 6
Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan justifies absolute sovereignty because, in his view, which
of the following is true about the state of nature?
A. It is a peaceful condition of voluntary cooperation
B. It is a condition of perpetual insecurity where no moral rules exist without an
enforcer
C. It is governed by natural religious law that prevents violence
D. It is preferable to living under an absolute monarch
Correct Answer: B. It is a condition of perpetual insecurity where no moral rules
exist without an enforcer [CORRECT]
Rationale: Hobbes describes the state of nature as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and
short" because without a common power, there is no effective moral or legal
restraint on human action. Peaceful cooperation (A) reflects Rousseau or Locke;
natural religious law (C) contradicts Hobbes's secular mechanistic view; and Hobbes
explicitly argues life under sovereign rule is preferable (D is incorrect).
Correct Answer: B
Question 7
WGU C963 AMERICAN POLITICS & US CONSTITUTION
FINAL EXAM 2026/2027 | Grade A Verified | Complete
Solutions | Pass Guaranteed - A+ Graded
Section 1: Enlightenment Philosophers & Social Contract
Theory (Questions 1-12)
Question 1
In John Locke's Second Treatise of Government, which three natural rights are
inherent to all individuals in the state of nature and cannot be surrendered to
government?
A. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
B. Life, liberty, and property
C. Equality, fraternity, and security
D. Speech, religion, and assembly
Correct Answer: B. Life, liberty, and property [CORRECT]
Rationale: Locke identified life, liberty, and property as fundamental natural rights
that preexist government. The "pursuit of happiness" is Jefferson's modification in
the Declaration of Independence. Equality and fraternity reflect Rousseau and French
revolutionary ideals, while speech, religion, and assembly are constitutional
protections, not Locke's natural rights triad.
Correct Answer: B
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Question 2
Thomas Hobbes argues that without a sovereign authority, the state of nature
devolves into a "war of every man against every man." What is the primary
motivation that drives individuals to leave the state of nature and form the social
contract?
A. Pursuit of wealth and economic prosperity
B. Fear of violent death and desire for self-preservation
C. Religious obligation to establish divine monarchy
D. Natural inclination toward democratic equality
Correct Answer: B. Fear of violent death and desire for self-preservation
[CORRECT]
Rationale: Hobbes's Leviathan posits that the absolute sovereign is justified by the
individual's rational fear of violent death in the state of nature. Self-preservation is
the foundational drive; economic prosperity and religious obligation are secondary
or irrelevant in Hobbes's mechanistic framework, and democratic equality contradicts
his absolutist solution.
Correct Answer: B
Question 3
Jean-Jacques Rousseau distinguishes between the "will of all" and the "general will."
Which statement best captures the "general will" in The Social Contract?
A. The aggregate of private interests and individual preferences
B. What is best for the community as a whole, even if it contradicts individual desires
C. The expressed preferences of the majority in a representative legislature
D. The monarch's divine right to rule according to natural law
Correct Answer: B. What is best for the community as a whole, even if it
contradicts individual desires [CORRECT]
Rationale: Rousseau's general will aims at the common good and may override
particular private interests (the will of all). It is not merely majority preference or
,3
representative legislation, and it explicitly rejects monarchical divine right in favor of
popular sovereignty and direct democratic participation.
Correct Answer: B
Question 4
Baron de Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws most directly influenced which
structural feature of the United States Constitution?
A. The establishment of a unitary national government
B. The tripartite separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers
C. The creation of a hereditary legislative chamber
D. The concentration of all powers in a single elected assembly
Correct Answer: B. The tripartite separation of legislative, executive, and judicial
powers [CORRECT]
Rationale: Montesquieu advocated dividing government into three branches to
prevent tyranny, a principle Madison explicitly adopted in Federalist No. 47. The
Constitution rejects unitary government, hereditary chambers (except indirect
election originally), and concentration of powers, all of which Montesquieu warned
against.
Correct Answer: B
Question 5
A government systematically confiscates private property without compensation,
imprisons citizens without trial, and suppresses all political opposition. According to
John Locke, what right do the people retain when government violates the social
contract?
A. The right to request mediation from a neighboring sovereign
B. The right to revolution and establishment of new government
, 4
C. The duty to submit because sovereignty is absolute
D. The obligation to wait for the next scheduled election
Correct Answer: B. The right to revolution and establishment of new government
[CORRECT]
Rationale: Locke argues that when government breaches the trust of the people by
systematically violating natural rights, the people possess the right to dissolve that
government and institute a new one. This contrasts with Hobbes's absolutism (option
C) and reflects Locke's conditional view of governmental legitimacy.
Correct Answer: B
Question 6
Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan justifies absolute sovereignty because, in his view, which
of the following is true about the state of nature?
A. It is a peaceful condition of voluntary cooperation
B. It is a condition of perpetual insecurity where no moral rules exist without an
enforcer
C. It is governed by natural religious law that prevents violence
D. It is preferable to living under an absolute monarch
Correct Answer: B. It is a condition of perpetual insecurity where no moral rules
exist without an enforcer [CORRECT]
Rationale: Hobbes describes the state of nature as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and
short" because without a common power, there is no effective moral or legal
restraint on human action. Peaceful cooperation (A) reflects Rousseau or Locke;
natural religious law (C) contradicts Hobbes's secular mechanistic view; and Hobbes
explicitly argues life under sovereign rule is preferable (D is incorrect).
Correct Answer: B
Question 7
