The Enlightenment philosopher John Locke was deeply influential to the founding fathers of the United States of America. His writings on the social contract and the responsibility of government to its citizens, found in the second of his two treatises, were impactful to the generation of Constitution Framers who established the government of the United States.

"Pluralism" is the name given to the theory or belief that political power is divided and shared by several disparate groups within a democratic society. In a society where pluralism is in effect, many different social, ethnic, and ideological groups are accepted and tolerated, and power is (in theory) shared equally among them.

Popular sovereignty is a concept that emerged during the Enlightenment period; it is a core concept of the American political system. It states that the only legitimate authority comes from the consent of the people.

For much of human history and even today in many systems of government and societies, the rights and freedoms of the individual have been suppressed in order to further the goals and/or security of the state. The political theory of individualism, an important tenet of the American political system, states that the freedom of the individual is more important than the power of the government.

Civic responsibility is a core ideal in American political participation. It states that American citizens have a duty to engage with the political process, and especially that they have a responsibility to get out and vote. The idea is that our freedoms and liberties are hard-won and still quite rare in the world, and we have a responsibility to maintain them by engaging with them.

Political socialization is a broad term used to refer to the means by which an individual forms his or her ideas about politics and develops his or her affiliations with certain ideas and political parties. Many factors impact political socialization, including parenting, education, the media, and social life.

John Locke was an Enlightenment-era philosopher who is most commonly associated with arguing in favor of the idea that all men have certain inalienable rights: primarily to life, liberty, and property. His ideas were extremely influential to the Constitutional Framers, particularly Thomas Jefferson.

The term imperialism is used to describe any attempt by a stronger nation to dominate or exert influence a weaker nation through the use of its military or via its economic superiority. The period from the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century is often referred to as the Era of European Imperialism, because so many European states were carving out sections of influence around the world. The United States has also engaged in its fair share of imperialism, particularly economic imperialism in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Anarchism is a political theory that favors the complete abolition of government. Anarchists believe that government interferes negatively in the lives and well-being of people, and that society would function best in the complete absence of government.

The political spectrum is usually constructed as follows: On the far left are revolutionaries, on the left are liberals, in the middle are moderates, on the right are conservatives, and on the far right are reactionaries. Reactionary political philosophy is defined by the repeated attempt to resist social change or, even further, to desire a return to a previous, and more rigid, social order.