popular sovereignty

noun

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 territorial legislature whether or not slavery would be permitted there

Examples of popular sovereignty in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In many parts of the world, the radical belief in popular sovereignty undid the hold of the notion of the divine right of kings, just as expanding commerce created a wealthy merchant class eager for greater political say. —Jennifer M. Harris, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025

The ideals of the French Revolution and its emphasis on popular sovereignty disseminated quickly. —Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025

The revolutions produced a set of political systems that balanced the privileges of property-owning elites, professional groups, and the church with broad popular sovereignty and individual rights—a balance that characterizes many political revolutions to this day. Loading... —Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023

The revolutions produced a set of political systems that balanced the privileges of property-owning elites, professional groups, and the church with broad popular sovereignty and individual rights—a balance that characterizes many political revolutions to this day. —Maurizio Isabella, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined at sense 1