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Popular Sovereignty In American Democracy

2601 Words11 Pages

Franz Milagroso
9/13/14
Popular Sovereignty The concept of Popular Sovereignty had developed throughout the existence of American democracy. Since America’s formation of it’s government it has always believed in the power and responsibility of the government. The first three words of the Constitution, “We the People”, establishes that America is a sovereign nation and that the people are the ones with the power in the country. It establishes that in order for the government to govern the governed must give the consent first. The concept of American democracy is centered on the idea of Popular Sovereignty. The idea of popular sovereignty is heavily based on the idea that the government is a democracy. In this concept of democracy the people …show more content…

Ironically the idea of democracy that the Americans immediately drew reference from, and by extension Popular sovereignty, was heavily influenced by the British 's form of government. Examples like the Magna Carta heavily influenced how the Americans thought the government should 've worked. The Magna Carta was a document written by the lords of King George who, at the time, believed that he had been given too much power and not enough limitations. The document itself is heavily based on Popular Sovereignty because it is one of the earliest examples of a people of a nation voicing their concerns and threatening to take action against the ruler of said nation. Interestingly enough this document, that was British in origin, would also be one of the major points the early American Congress would call upon during their argument of unfair treatment by the King of …show more content…

We see examples of popular sovereignty all over the world today, from Scotland wanting to become independent from the United Kingdom through peaceful government processes to Ukrainian revolutions within the country. The world today is quickly shaping to be more focused on popular sovereignty because more people want a governing system that mimics one of the United States’ doctrine and ideals. People want a government in which all people are considered equal and have individual worth. They want a government that isn’t tyrannical and a government in which the populace has a say in government affairs. Essentially they want equality and freedom, although that entails having popular sovereignty because these people want to have a voice. But why is popular sovereignty needed in order to have freedom and equality? It’s because the idea of popular sovereignty entails that the government needs the consent of the people before enacting any sort of law or regulation because the people are seen

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