Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness., Natural Rights- people are born with them; government is to protect them, Popular Sovereignty- people are the source of power, Social Contract: If the government fails to protect the people it is the job of the people to abolish it, Articles of Confederation: States were sovereign, Each state had 1 vote, Complete failure, Congress couldn't collect taxes or regulate interstate commerce, No executive or judicial branches, States basically did what they wanted, Required all states to agree to amend, Constitution: Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, Federalism, Republican form of government, Limited government, Amendment process that required congress to propose and 3/4 of state legislatures to ratify, Bill of Rights, 11th- 27th amendments, 3/5ths of enslaved population would be counted for population, Federalist 10: Madison says that factions are the biggest threat facing the republic, Factions are groups that don't want what's best for everyone, Factions are inevitable because of liberty - cannot get rid of them without taking away liberty , You can control negative effects of facgtions but not through democracy- that would lead to tyranny of the majority , The best solution is to control factions by creating a large republic, Brutus: Advocates for a small republic, Warns that i f you give up power, you will never give it back, Elastic clause is fearful because it gives the government absolute power, Power to tax leads to a tyrannical government, Federal government will destroy the states, Don't Belong: Hamilton argues for unitary executive, Brutus argues that taxation will help the union, Silencing factions or removing factions altogether will be great for union , No amendment process should be allowed,

Part 1: Foundational Documents

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