journal article Show Virginia Law Review Vol. 100, No. 5 (September 2014) , pp. 1061-1109 (49 pages) Published By: Virginia Law Review https://www.jstor.org/stable/24362715 This is a preview. Log in to get access Journal Information The Virginia Law Review is a journal of general legal scholarship published by the students of the University of Virginia School of Law. The continuing objective of the Virginia Law Review is to publish a professional periodical devoted to legal and law-related issues that can be of use to judges, practitioners, teachers, legislators, students, and others interested in the law. First formally organized on April 23, 1913, the Virginia Law Review today remains one of the most respected and influential student legal periodicals in the country. Publisher Information The Virginia Law Review is published by the Virginia Law Review Association, an independent publishing institution staffed and directed solely by law students at the University of Virginia School of Law. The Virginia Law Review was permanently organized on April 23, 1913, and today has among its ranks approximately eighty current student members and hundreds of alumni across the country. The members of the Virginia Law Review Association select and edit all of the pieces published in the eight annual issues of the Virginia Law Review. Rights & Usage This item is part of a JSTOR Collection.
The US Declaration of Independence expresses the mindset which gave rise to the US Revolution of 1776. To set the stage for analysis, let’s begin with the words at the heart of the document. Then we will break this down into segments to analyze the foundational premises of the words as a means of exposing contrasts with a society such as ours attuned to the precepts of popular sovereignty: “We hold these truths to be self- evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness-That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The first segment declares the perceived nature of truth: “We hold these truths to be self- evident.” These are not the truths of popular sovereignty, which derives truth through a process of give and take in societal interchange where the views of the strongest personalities prevail. Rather, the declaration addresses “self-evident” truth. The next phrase brings the source of truth into focus: “that all men are created (not evolved) equal.” To be created assumes a Creator. This is the polar opposite of popular sovereignty where equality stems from where one is positioned in society. Then comes “that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights”. To be endowed is to receive a gift—witness God gifting His only begotten Son to humanity. Similarly, for rights to be unalienable assumes truth as absolute, as in our absolutely good God. Under popular sovereignty rights cannot be unalienable because they are subject to the constant whims of societal change. The declaration then gives examples of unalienable rights: “among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Life, in the proper Biblical context, is eternal life, Liberty is freedom from an earthly disposition and pursuit of Happiness in proper context equates happiness with attunement to God’s will. Next comes the practical keys to aligning political theology to political institutions: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men.” This assumes a government reflecting the God-given premises already set. Fundamental is the Bible premise that man’s nature is beset with tendencies toward evil. Hence, as James Madison confirmed in the Federalist Papers, checks and balances in our government reflect an attempt to force compromise and consensus among less than perfect humanity. Then the final and critical point: “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” This presupposes a society whose political culture is based on the same rational principles as evidenced in the Declaration of Independence. How, then, can a society premised on the sovereignty of man over God properly affirm political legitimacy to a government premised on the sovereignty of God over man? Popular Sovereignty implies that the heart of man is good and that a people should do whatever their hearts desire, as their guide. This was the premise of the French Revolution of 1789 which birthed chaos, mass bloodshed and finally the Empire of the dictator Napoleon. What then does the disconnect between the premises and practices of our society and the sacrosanct goals of our society expressed in the Declaration of Independence say to us? How does the Declaration of Independence reflect popular sovereignty?Popular Sovereignty: “We the People”
The Declaration of Independence affirmed the republican principle of popular government. The people were the source of all sovereignty, or authority, in the representative government. They gave their consent to their elected representatives to govern them.
What does the Declaration say about popular sovereignty?All government of right originates with the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.
Which of the following quotes from the Declaration of Independence reflects the principle of popular sovereignty?Answer and Explanation: The correct answer is c. " It is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security ". This involves the notion of people "contracting" with their security forces.
What is the main idea of popular sovereignty?Popular sovereignty means that the people are the ultimate source of the authority of their government. Popular sovereignty means that democratic government is BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE—for the benefit of the people, not for the benefit of those who govern in their name.
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The Declaration of Independence reflected the idea of popular sovereignty because it
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