WGU C963 American Politics
c c c
and the U.S. Constitution Study
c c c c c
Guide
c
TFN1 cTask c1: cFounding cIdeologies
Diana cChaffin
C963 c– cAmerican cPolitics cand cthe cU.S. cConstitution
cWestern cGovernors cUniversity
A. Enlightenment cThought cand cU.S. cFoundations
The cbirth cof cthe cUnited cStates cwas crooted cin cideas cdeveloped cduring cthe cEnlightenment, ca
cEuropean cmovement cfocused con creason, cliberty, cand climiting cgovernment cauthority. cThese
cideals cguided cearly cAmerican cleaders cas cthey cstructured ca cnew cpolitical csystem.
Philosopher cJohn cLocke cemphasized cthat cindividuals cnaturally cpossess crights csuch cas clife cand
cfreedom. cHe cmaintained cthat ca cgovernment's cpurpose cis cto cprotect cthese crights, cand cwhen cit
cfails cto cdo cso, ccitizens care cjustified cin cchallenging cor cchanging cthat cgovernment. cLocke's
carguments cdirectly cinspired cthe clanguage cin cthe cDeclaration cof cIndependence, cespecially cits cclaim
cthat cgovernment clegitimacy ccomes cfrom cthe cpeople.
Another cEnlightenment cfigure, cMontesquieu, cwarned cagainst cthe cdangers cof cconcentrated cpower.
cHe cproposed cdividing cauthority camong cbranches, cso cthat ceach cpart cof cgovernment cwould chold cthe
cothers cin ccheck. cThis cbecame cthe cfoundation cfor cthe cthree-part csystem claid cout cin cthe cU.S.
cConstitution, chelping cprevent cany csingle cbranch cfrom cbecoming cdominant.
B. Resolving cRepresentation cDisputes
At cthe cConstitutional cConvention, cstates cdisagreed cover chow cthey cshould cbe crepresented cin cthe
cnew cnational clegislature. cLarger cstates csupported cpopulation-based crepresentation, cwhile csmaller
cones cwanted cequal cvoice cregardless cof csize.
The cdisagreement cwas csettled cthrough cthe cGreat cCompromise, cwhich cestablished ca ctwo-house
clegislative cstructure. cIn cone cchamber, cthe cnumber cof cseats cper cstate cwould cbe cbased con
cpopulation. cIn cthe cother, ceach cstate cwould creceive ctwo cvotes, cno cmatter cits csize. cThis
carrangement chelped cunite cthe cdelegates cand callowed cthe cConstitution cto cmove cforward.
C. Powers cShared cand cDivided
The cConstitution cdelegates cdifferent cresponsibilities cto cthree cbranches cof cgovernment, cmaking
csure cpower cis cdistributed:
• Congress c(Legislative): cHas cthe cability cto cdeclare cwar, censuring cthat csuch ca cdecision
cinvolves cthe celected crepresentatives.
• President c(Executive): cCan creject cproposed clegislation cusing cthe cveto cpower, cwhich
cacts cas ca ccheck con cCongress.
messages.downloaded_by
c c c
and the U.S. Constitution Study
c c c c c
Guide
c
TFN1 cTask c1: cFounding cIdeologies
Diana cChaffin
C963 c– cAmerican cPolitics cand cthe cU.S. cConstitution
cWestern cGovernors cUniversity
A. Enlightenment cThought cand cU.S. cFoundations
The cbirth cof cthe cUnited cStates cwas crooted cin cideas cdeveloped cduring cthe cEnlightenment, ca
cEuropean cmovement cfocused con creason, cliberty, cand climiting cgovernment cauthority. cThese
cideals cguided cearly cAmerican cleaders cas cthey cstructured ca cnew cpolitical csystem.
Philosopher cJohn cLocke cemphasized cthat cindividuals cnaturally cpossess crights csuch cas clife cand
cfreedom. cHe cmaintained cthat ca cgovernment's cpurpose cis cto cprotect cthese crights, cand cwhen cit
cfails cto cdo cso, ccitizens care cjustified cin cchallenging cor cchanging cthat cgovernment. cLocke's
carguments cdirectly cinspired cthe clanguage cin cthe cDeclaration cof cIndependence, cespecially cits cclaim
cthat cgovernment clegitimacy ccomes cfrom cthe cpeople.
Another cEnlightenment cfigure, cMontesquieu, cwarned cagainst cthe cdangers cof cconcentrated cpower.
cHe cproposed cdividing cauthority camong cbranches, cso cthat ceach cpart cof cgovernment cwould chold cthe
cothers cin ccheck. cThis cbecame cthe cfoundation cfor cthe cthree-part csystem claid cout cin cthe cU.S.
cConstitution, chelping cprevent cany csingle cbranch cfrom cbecoming cdominant.
B. Resolving cRepresentation cDisputes
At cthe cConstitutional cConvention, cstates cdisagreed cover chow cthey cshould cbe crepresented cin cthe
cnew cnational clegislature. cLarger cstates csupported cpopulation-based crepresentation, cwhile csmaller
cones cwanted cequal cvoice cregardless cof csize.
The cdisagreement cwas csettled cthrough cthe cGreat cCompromise, cwhich cestablished ca ctwo-house
clegislative cstructure. cIn cone cchamber, cthe cnumber cof cseats cper cstate cwould cbe cbased con
cpopulation. cIn cthe cother, ceach cstate cwould creceive ctwo cvotes, cno cmatter cits csize. cThis
carrangement chelped cunite cthe cdelegates cand callowed cthe cConstitution cto cmove cforward.
C. Powers cShared cand cDivided
The cConstitution cdelegates cdifferent cresponsibilities cto cthree cbranches cof cgovernment, cmaking
csure cpower cis cdistributed:
• Congress c(Legislative): cHas cthe cability cto cdeclare cwar, censuring cthat csuch ca cdecision
cinvolves cthe celected crepresentatives.
• President c(Executive): cCan creject cproposed clegislation cusing cthe cveto cpower, cwhich
cacts cas ca ccheck con cCongress.
messages.downloaded_by
