LESSON 11- September Reader Response

POLITICAL SCIENCE - THE CONSTITUTION
Benchmarks: SS.8.3.3 - Describe the purpose and structures of the three branches of government.
Benchmarks: SS.8.4.1 - Describe the ideas and principles (including checks and balances, separation of powers, representative democracy) of the Constitution.

September Reader Response: Read the handouts about John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Baron de Montesquieu. Write a three paragraph(intro, body, and conclusion) based on the following prompt: How did the writings of John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Baron de Montesquieu contribute to the creation of the Constitution?"
The handouts can be retrieved by 1) looking into Google, then typing: http://great-philosophers.suite101.com/article.cfm/hobbes_locke_and_rousseau and 2) by printing out page 33 of the LINK in my blogspot under THE CONSTITUTION regarding Baron de Montesquieu.


The following are notes which you could take:
Locke - impartial judges, society should have a system of checks and balances, and believed we should elect representatives to keep things in order. Advocate of private property.
Hobbes - Power should be given to the sovereign to instill fear in the people.
Rousseau - It is the people who should decide what rules we want to follow, everyone should participate in government for liberty and for the common good, a society if legitimate if it is free, and a society and government is freer if there is an absence of private property.
Montesquieu - A government should employ a Supreme Court system, Power should not be concentrated in the hands of only one person - the king, power should be evenly distributed between Parliament and the King, and Montesquieu like the idea of having three branches of government - executive, legislative, judicial.

The following are examples of how to write a thesis for your paper:
Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century writers gave Constitution author James Madison inspiration and direction on how a society should be governed. John Locke proposed . . .
In drafting the Constitution, James Madison applied some of the most salient aspects of sixteenth century philosophy such as John Locke, Thomas Hobbles, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Baron de Montesquieu. . . .
It took the philosophies of four monumental writers that comprised the Constitution. James Madison, author of the Constitution, borrowed incisive principles from John Locke, . . .
The origins of the Constitution emanate from the writings of famous philosophers. James Madison's study of philosphers John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Baron de Montesquieu led to the creation of the US Constitution. . . .
US Constitution author James Madison adopted some of the principles and philosphy of John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Baron de Montesquieu . . .
The Constitution is rooted in the ideas of four prominent writers - John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Baron de Montesquieu. In drafting the Constitution, James Madison applied the ideals of sixteenth and seventeenth philosophers . . .

Due Date: October 9th