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John Witherspoon
John Witherspoon was a Founding Father of the United States, and while president of the College of New Jersey, became an influential figure in the development of the United States' national character. He was a delegate from New Jersey to the Second Continental Congress and was the only active clergyman and college president to sign the Declaration. Later, he signed the Articles of Confederation and supported ratification of the Constitution. -
John Hancock
John Hancock was a prominent Patriot of the American Revolution, and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is remembered for his large and stylish signature on the United States Declaration of Independence, so much so that the term John Hancock has become a synonym in the United States for one's signature. Hancock was one of Boston's leaders during the crisis that led to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1775. -
John Trumbull sr.
Jonathan Trumbull Sr. was one of the few Americans who served as governor in both a pre-Revolutionary colony and a post-Revolutionary state. He was the only colonial governor at the start of the Revolution to take up the rebel cause. -
Charles Carroll
Charles Carroll was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early advocate of independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and Confederation Congress and later as first United States Senator for Maryland. He was the only Catholic and the longest-lived, and last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, dying 56 years after the document was first signed. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is a document written to unify the 13 colonies of America and declare independence from british rule -
John Peter Muhlenberg
He is the only clergyman to pick up arms, and after the war he was a lieutenant governor and started the pennsylvanian university. -
E Pluribus Unum
E pluribus unum is Latin for "Out of many, one" and is a traditional motto of the United States of America, appearing on the Great Seal, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782. Never codified by law, E Pluribus Unum was considered a go to motto of the United States until 1956 when the United States Congress passed an act, adopting "In God We Trust" as the official motto. -
John Jay
John Jay was an American statesman, Patriot, diplomat, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, signed the Treaty of Paris of 1783, second Governor of New York, and the first Chief Justice of the United States. He directed U.S. foreign policy for much of the 1780s and was an important leader of the Federalist Party after the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788. -
U.S. Constitution
The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. Its first three articles explain the separation of powers, where the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, the executive, consisting of the President; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Articles Four-Six explain the concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments added to the United States Constitution. It allows for rights to be added or removed if added to the constitution. -
Eminent Domain
Eminent domain is the power of a state, provincial, or national government to take private property for public use. However, this power can be legislatively delegated by the state to municipalities, government subdivisions, or even to private persons or corporations, when authorized by the legislature to perform the functions of public character.The property may be taken either for government use or by third parties through legislative delegation. -
Fifth Amendment
The Fifth Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights and protects individuals from being forced to be witnesses against themselves in criminal cases. "Pleading the Fifth" is a colloquial term for using the right that allows witnesses to decline to answer questions where the answers might incriminate them, and generally without having to suffer a penalty for asserting the right. -
Benjamin Rush
Rush was a Founding Father of the United States, civic leader in Philadelphia, physician, politician, social reformer, humanitarian, educator and signed the Declaration of Independence. Rush was a leader of the American Enlightenment and an enthusiastic supporter of the American Revolution. He opposed slavery, advocated free public schools, and sought improved education for women and a more enlightened penal system. study of mental disorder made him one of the founders of American psychiatry. -
Alexis five Principals Liberty, Egalitarianism, Individualism, Populism, and Laissez-faire
Liberty-Protection against tyrannical gov. Egalitarianism- society of equals. Individualism-The american gov. did not direct individual activity to the same extent as Europe. Populism-participation of the common people in political life. Laissez-faire-the gov has a "hands off" approach. -
Alexis de Tocqueville
Sent to America by the french gov. French gov. to study its prisons and reform theirs. He wrote the Democracy in America which serves as guide to measure how america has changed -
"In God We Trust"
"In God We Trust" is the official motto of the United States. It was adopted as the nation's motto in 1956 as a replacement for the unofficial motto of E pluribus unum.
