Popular sovereignty
Idea that the people are the source of all power / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Sovereign people" redirects here. For the Curaçaoan political party, see Sovereign People.
Popular sovereignty is the principle that the leaders of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, who are the source of all political legitimacy. Popular sovereignty, being a principle, does not imply any particular political implementation.[lower-alpha 1] Benjamin Franklin expressed the concept when he wrote that "In free governments, the rulers are the servants and the people their superiors and sovereigns".[1]