Popular sovereignty — Social Studies definition
Defined in 3 courses:
- A proposal to decide a territorial issue through a specified local political process. (U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction)
- A proposal to decide a territorial issue through a defined local political process. (United States History & Government: Colonial Foundations to the Early 21st Century)
- The principle that political authority ultimately rests with the people. (Government, Civic Participation & Economics)
Where it is taught
- Compromises, Fugitive Slave Law & Kansas — Sectional Crisis & Civil War, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
- Sectional Conflict, Political Breakdown & Secession — Expansion, Slavery, Civil War & Reconstruction, United States History & Government: Colonial Foundations to the Early 21st Century, Grade 11
- Political Ideas: Consent, Liberty & Limits on Power — Foundations of Government & Public Reasoning, Government, Civic Participation & Economics, Grade 12
In use
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 reopened territorial contest through popular sovereignty and displaced the earlier restriction in the affected territories.
Sectional Conflict, Political Breakdown & Secession
Natural-rights theories and theories of popular sovereignty offer different ways to evaluate institutions.
Political Ideas: Consent, Liberty & Limits on Power
Questions using popular sovereignty
Problem 1
Answer and explanation
Eligibility and power can exclude affected people, and procedures can be disputed or coerced. Examine who voted, under which authority, and how decisions were enforced.
Problem 2
Answer and explanation
A rule assigning a decision to settlers does not establish who qualified to vote or whether participation was safe and fairly administered. Exclusions, intimidation, contested residence, and rival institutions could affect results. Analyze the actual electorate and conditions alongside the label popular sovereignty.
Taught alongside
- context
- primary source
- interpretation
- compromise
- evidence
- sectionalism
- political theory
- social contract
- consent
- premise