popular sovereignty

popular sovereignty
1. the doctrine that sovereign power is vested in the people and that those chosen to govern, as trustees of such power, must exercise it in conformity with the general will.
2. Amer. Hist. (before the Civil War) a doctrine, held chiefly by the opponents of the abolitionists, that the people living in a territory should be free of federal interference in determining domestic policy, esp. with respect to slavery.
[1840-50, Amer.]

* * *

Political doctrine that allowed the settlers of U.S. federal territories to decide whether to enter the Union as free or slave states.

It was applied by Sen. Stephen A. Douglas as a means to reach a compromise through passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Critics of the doctrine called it "squatter sovereignty." The resulting violence between pro-and antislavery factions (see Bleeding Kansas) showed its failure as a workable compromise. See also Dred Scott decision.

* * *

▪ political doctrine
also called  Squatter Sovereignty,  

      in U.S. history, a controversial political doctrine that the people of federal territories should decide for themselves whether their territories would enter the Union as free or slave states. Its enemies, especially in New England, called it “squatter sovereignty.”

      It was first applied in organizing the Utah and New Mexico territories in 1850; its most crucial application came with the passage of Senator Stephen A. Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which repealed the prohibition of slavery north of latitude 36°30′ (established in the Missouri Compromise of 1820 (Missouri Compromise)). The violent struggle that followed for control of the Kansas Territory (see Bleeding Kansas) illustrated the failure of popular sovereignty as a possible ground for agreement between proslavery and antislavery factions in the country. See also Dred Scott decision.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Popular sovereignty — or the sovereignty of the people is the political principle that the legitimacy of the state is created and sustained by the will or consent of its people, who are the source of all political power. It is closely associated with Republicanism and …   Wikipedia

  • Popular Sovereignty —   [ pɔpjʊlə sɔvrəntɪ, englisch], in der Vorgeschichte des amerikanischen Sezessionskrieges die besonders von Senator S. A. Douglas im »Kansas Nebraska Act« (1854; Kansas, Geschichte) vertretene Formel, nach der die Bevölkerung eines Territoriums …   Universal-Lexikon

  • popular sovereignty — noun 1. : a doctrine in political theory that sovereignty is vested in the people as a whole rather than in a particular individual or group (as a ruling dynasty) and as a result that government is created by and subject to the will of the people …   Useful english dictionary

  • Popular sovereignty in the United States — The American Revolution marked a departure in the concept of popular sovereignty as it had been discussed and employed in the European historical context. With their Revolution, Americans substituted the sovereignty in the person of the English… …   Wikipedia

  • popular sovereignty — noun Date: 1848 1. a doctrine in political theory that government is created by and subject to the will of the people 2. a pre Civil War doctrine asserting the right of the people living in a newly organized territory to decide by vote of their… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Popular Republican Movement — Mouvement Républicain Populaire President Maurice Schumann (1944 49) Jean Lecanuet (1963 65) …   Wikipedia

  • Sovereignty — Sovereign redirects here. For other uses, see Sovereign (disambiguation). The frontispiece of Thomas Hobbes Leviathan, depicting the Sovereign as a massive body wielding a sword and crozier and composed of many individual people. Sovereignty is… …   Wikipedia

  • sovereignty — /sov rin tee, suv /, n., pl. sovereignties. 1. the quality or state of being sovereign. 2. the status, dominion, power, or authority of a sovereign; royalty. 3. supreme and independent power or authority in government as possessed or claimed by a …   Universalium

  • popular — /pop yeuh leuhr/, adj. 1. regarded with favor, approval, or affection by people in general: a popular preacher. 2. regarded with favor, approval, or affection by an acquaintance or acquaintances: He s not very popular with me just now. 3. of,… …   Universalium

  • Popular Front of Moldova — For the political movement formed at the end of the 1960 s, see National Patriotic Front. The Popular Front of Moldova (Romanian: Frontul Popular din Moldova) was a political movement in the Moldavian SSR, one of the 15 union republics of the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”