The foundations of united states national government.

POL/115 v3

The foundations of united states national government. 1

POL/115 Week 1 Assignment

Influences on the Founding of the United States of America

Complete each section of the matrix below. Include APA citations for all unoriginal ideas, facts, or definitions.

Documents	In 100-250 words, provide a brief summary of each document, and discuss each document’s significance or influence on the values of the American political culture or the ideas for the structure and organization of the U.S. Federal Government.
Magna Carta
Mayflower Compact
Declaration of Independence
Articles of Confederation
The Virginia Plan
The New Jersey Plan
The Connecticut Plan
The U.S. Constitution
The Bill of Rights

Philosophers	In 100-250 words, provide a brief summary of who each philosopher was, and discuss how each philosopher’s writings and ideas influenced the founding fathers as they developed the values of American political culture and the nature and structure of the U.S. system of government.
Thomas Hobbes
John Locke
Montesquieu
Selected Founders	In 100-250 words, provide a brief summary of who each founding father was, and discuss the role of each person in the establishment of the United States of America and its system of government.
Benjamin Franklin
Alexander Hamilton
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
John Adams

Political Factions	In 100-250 words, provide a brief explanation of each of these factions, and discuss how each viewed the power and scope of the U.S. Federal government.
Federalists
Anti-Federalists
Types of Democracy	In 100-250 words, discuss the characteristics and principles of each type of government, and describe how (if at all) those principles are used in the structure of the U.S. system of government.
Representative Democracy
Direct Democracy
Concepts	In 100-250 words, describe how each of these concepts exists in the organization of the U.S. federal government, and discuss why this concept is important in a representative democracy.
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances