Vocab Words for Unit 1: The Origins of American Government

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Across
  1. 2. An oppressive, cruel, and unjust government ruled by an absolute leader.
  2. 4. The division of government authority across distinct branches to prevent any one group from becoming too powerful.
  3. 10. God-given rights that every individual is born with and that no government can take away—originally defined as life, liberty, and property.
  4. 14. Punitive laws and tax codes passed by the British Parliament to assert control over the American colonies.
  5. 17. A collective refusal to buy or use goods as a form of political protest.
  6. 18. The fundamental belief that all humans are born with the same inherent worth and deserve equal protection under the law.
  7. 20. The ethical core from Judaism and Christianity that infused the American founding with values like individual worth, justice, and personal responsibility.
  8. 21. The constitutional guarantee that the government must respect all legal rights owed to a person, ensuring fair legal procedures.
  9. 23. A formal complaint or expression of a wrong suffered; the Declaration contains 27 specific grievances against the King.
  10. 24. An English philosopher who argued that government exists solely to protect people's natural rights.
  11. 25. The protected right of all citizens to practice any religion—or no religion at all—without government interference.
  12. 26. A European intellectual movement that emphasized reason, individual liberty, and new philosophies on government power.
  13. 27. A British policy forcing colonists to house and feed British soldiers in their private homes.
Down
  1. 1. The active involvement and responsibility of citizens in their government and community
  2. 3. A system of government, originating in Ancient Greece, where citizens vote directly on laws and policies rather than electing representatives.
  3. 5. Rights explicitly named in the Declaration of Independence Preamble that cannot be taken away: Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
  4. 6. A system where citizens elect leaders to make laws and govern on their behalf; heavily inspired by the Roman Republic.
  5. 7. The colonial slogan declaring that taxes were unjust because colonists had no voice or representatives in the British Parliament.
  6. 8. A form of government where officials are elected by citizens to make laws, but their power is restricted by a constitution that protects individual rights.
  7. 9. The principle that a government's legitimacy and moral right to use state power is only justified when approved by the people.
  8. 11. To formally put an end to something; the Declaration states citizens have the right to abolish a destructive government.
  9. 12. A political system where the government's power is strictly restricted by a constitution or law to protect individual freedom.
  10. 13. The principle that the law applies to everyone equally, including government leaders, and that no one is above the law.
  11. 15. A Greek city-state , which served as the birthplace of early democratic ideas.
  12. 16. A French philosopher who proposed dividing government power into separate branches checked by one another.
  13. 19. A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches to prevent abuse.
  14. 22. An implicit agreement where people give up a fraction of their freedom to a government in exchange for the protection of their rights.