Unit 1 - Fundamental Principles of Democracy
The first unit of our government course is dedicated to the idea that there are six fundamental
principles of American Government. You will study each, in theory and in practice. That means
you will understand the ideas behind American government as well as the way that our
government works in the real world.
Fundamental Principle #1 - Popular Sovereignty
Popular Sovereignty is perhaps the most important concept to a democracy. It means that
the ultimate power to make laws and govern comes from the People (sovereignty means the
ultimate authority to govern). This was a relatively new idea when our country was founded.
Most nations in Europe were governed by kings or queens, whose power whose power came
from their family, the strength of their army, or (some claimed) straight from God.
During the Enlightenment in Europe and America, new ideas began to emerge about
government. Political philosophers began to argue that a government could only be legitimate if
it received its power from the consent of the governed, or the agreement of the people. John
Locke may have influenced the founding fathers more than any other political philosopher, and
they used many of his ideas to justify the American Revolution. Thomas Jefferson used Locke’s
ideas in the Declaration of Independence when he claimed that people had “inalienable rights”
and a right to overthrow their government if it failed to protect these rights.
The founding fathers made their belief in popular sovereignty clear when they began the
U.S. Constitution with the three words that every elementary school student in America learns,
“We the People.” In fact, much of the importance of the American Revolution comes from the
fact that Americans wrote the state constitutions and the U.S. Constitution that established
governments in America after independence. For the first time in modern history, elected
representatives of the people deliberately created governments built on the idea of popular
sovereignty.
The people in America granted power to their state governments and to the new federal
government through written constitutions that were ratified by the people. After the founders
wrote the U.S. Constitution, every state held conventions where elected delegates ratified, or
approved, the new Constitution. It was in these ratifying conventions that the American people
granted the new government the power to govern them. This was a long way from European
monarchies, where ultimate authority was thought to come from God (the divine right of kings)
or from the force of arms.
Popular Sovereignty Review Questions
1. What does the term popular sovereignty mean?
2. How does the idea of popular sovereignty make our government different from
European monarchies from the 1700s?
3. When did the idea of popular sovereignty begin to take hold in Europe and
America?
4. What political philosopher had a major influence on Thomas Jefferson and the
Declaration of Independence?
5. What was the importance of the ratifying conventions in which each state
approved the new Constitution?