American Government / Unit 1 Gov 016 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Social Contract
Captions available
The idea
A social contract is an agreement in which people yield some freedom to a government in exchange for protection of rights and order.
In practice
Colonists drew the idea from English political thought: government's authority comes from the consent of the governed.
Where people slip
The contract is a founding idea, not a signed document.
Your place on the trail
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