Popular Sovereignty

Definition of Popular Sovereignty 

The preamble to the Constitution begins with this bold phrase: "We the people..." These words announce that in the United States, the people establish government and give it its power. The people are sovereign. Since the government receives its power from the people, it can govern only with their consent. 

Here is a list of examples of how Popular Sovereignty is applied today 

• Constitution states the power of the government belongs to the people
• The people have the right to vote for who they believe is the right choice for the country
• The peoples rights are observed and preserved through legislation

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Below are links to the bullets above click them to learn more

BULLET ONE - CLICK HERE 

BULLET TWO - CLICK HERE 

BULLET THREE - CLICK HERE 

Popular Sovereignty over time... 

English Bill of Rights (1689) 

• When the English bill of rights was created it had within it several different types of principles but one that sticks out would be popular sovereignty considering it has to do with the people and how there rights are protected. One of these points is NO CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT. This shows examples of popular sovereignty by showing how the government is there for the people and to help promote and protect there rights. during this time many were wrong terrorized by government officials and the people were not fairly represented. with this being issued it prevented this and allowed the people more say on if something like that occurred. 
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Royal Colonies (1624-1775) 

• Now the royal colonies were formed which consisted of blank. These colonies strongly loyal to the king did have there own form of how the colony was run. one point that can be addressed which represents popular sovereignty is how MEMBERS OF THE BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE WERE ELECTED. This shows popular sovereignty allowing the people to choose who they wish to be represented in the legislative branch. 
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Charter Colonies (1662-1775)

• Along with the royal colonies were the charter colonies which consisted of blank. Just as the other colonies these ones had a slightly different system of how things were run. An example of popular sovereignty within these colonies was that the public was allowed to ELECT THE GOVERNORS. The use of this type of system was the beginning of democracy within the more local governments instead of everything ruled over by the monarch. 
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First Continental Congress (1774) 

• Time soon came when congress came together in what was known as the first continental congress. From this meeting many different things were discussed and address as the eve of a revolution was approaching. Because they knew a war would happen preparations for forming americas FIRST NATIONAL GOVERNMENT came about. By trying to create a new government the founding fathers first goal was to protect and promote popular sovereignty within that government and providing as many opportunities to the citizens as possible. 
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Second Continental Congress (1775) 

• Now we move ahead a year later the war has broken out and congress has gathered again to finalize new and old issues which had arisen. Out of this assembly much more was accomplished and three things came from this event which represent popular sovereignty.REPRESENTATIVES USED IN CONGRESS the COMMANDER IN CHIEF WAS CREATED and the GOVERNMENT WAS UNDER NO CONSTITUTION EVERYTHING WAS SUPPORTED BY THE PUBLIC. The use of representatives can clearly be seen in its name it was to represent the people and bring up issues pertaining to there colony. When the commander in chief was created this showed the people that the military was in good hands and wouldnt be used againtst them. Sense no constitution was formed everything was strictly based of the peoples ideas and needs which shows great popular sovereignty to the public. 
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Declaration of Independence (1776) 

• Now the declaration of independence was proclaimed which official marked us as a separate new and free nation. Under this document and few points were addressed which were statements of what our new nations goal was and what rights the public have within the government or better known as popular sovereignty. Two things that can be pulled from this is GOVERNMENTS ARE INSTITUTED AMONG MEN DERIVING POWERS FROM CONSENT and the PEOPLE HAVE THE RIGHT TO ALTER OR ABOLISH GOVERNMENT. These two famous lines from the document state a powerful message and both are within the constitution. They basically state how the people have all the control and say within the government and if anything was to go wrong they have the right and duty to alter or abolish it for the greater good. 
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Articles of Confederation (1781) 

• Now the government has reached its first form of a constitution the articles of confederation. Within this document comes one good point of how popular sovereignty was carried on which is how UNICAMERAL DELEGATES ARE ELECTED EVERY YEAR. This also used as a form of limiting government showed that democracy stayed strong within the system allowing the public to choose new delegates every year to prevent to much power and to better represent the peoples wants and needs more often. 
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Virginia Plan (1787)

• Even though our new government was formed and secure there were many minor issues that needed to be addressed and many were from the Virginia plan. One of the many compromises that can be drawn from this plan as an example is how the HOUSE WAS TO BE ELECTED BY EACH STATE. Also a form of federalism this provided popular sovereignty or power to the people by allowing them to elect representatives for there state to go to congress and represent the peoples wants and needs and address them. 
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