popular sovereignty

/ˈpɑpjələr ˈsɑvrənti/

In politics, popular sovereignty is the idea that government is authorized by citizens and influenced by what they want. Popular sovereignty means a country's constitution must be ratified by the majority of the people or their representatives.

Popular sovereignty is one of the founding ideas of the United States. It's referred to in the Declaration of Independence, which states that legitimate governments get their power "from the Consent of the Governed." The term was also used prior to the American Civil War to refer to the policy that new territories admitted to the U.S. could decide on their own whether or not to allow slavery.

Definitions of popular sovereignty

1. noun

   the doctrine that government derives its authority from and is subject to the will of the people
   type of:

   doctrine, ism, philosophical system, philosophy, school of thought

   a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school
2. noun

   pre-Civil War doctrine that people living in a new territory could decide whether or not slavery would be allowed there
   type of:

   doctrine, ism, philosophical system, philosophy, school of thought

   a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school