The God-given Right to Govern Vested in the Sovereign Authority of the Whole People.
During the 1600’s the royal families of England were bringing out the principle known as the “DIVINE RIGHTS OF KINGS.” In other words, it was declared right for them to reign and what they said or did was God-given.
The principle of the “God-given right to govern vested in the Sovereign authority of the whole people,” was a radical idea and one that met much opposition for the reigning kings of that time. A man by the name of Algernon Sidney was beheaded in 1683 by King Charles II because he insisted that the right to rule was invested in the people and that no one can rule without their consent.
John Locke fled out of England to Holland to be able to say the same thing Sidney was saying: “And whoever gets into the exercise of any part of the power by other ways than what the laws of the community have prescribed hath no right to be obeyed, though the form of the commonwealth be still preserved, since he is not the person the laws have appointed, and, consequently not the person THE PEOPLE HAVE CONSENTED TO.”
How we can thank our Founding Fathers for the fact that there was no idea of the divine right of kings in their thinking when they began to lay the foundation of our Republic. Alexander Hamilton said: “The fabric of American empire ought-to-rest on the solid basis of THE CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE.”
It is interesting to note that in the early days of our Constitution many of the citizens feared that too much power was given to the Federal government and it was through the writings of Madison and Hamilton their fears were put to rest that ultimate authority resides in the people alone. When I see today the authority that the Federal government is taking upon itself it should cause great alarm. We are now being told what to eat, what to do, where to go, etc., and with the promise of citizens being taken care of by the government from the cradle to grave. Some might like it, but it is always at the cost of our freedom.
This then brings in the question: What happens when the elected officials usurp the authority of the people and begin to impose abusive policies upon them? This brings us to the fundamental principle of our Constitution and the next principle that we will be looking at: THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE MAY ALTER OR ABOLISH A GOVERNMENT WHICH HAS BECOME TYRANNICAL. Here in America we still have the privilege of going to the voting booth to vote in candidates.
This is why I think these 28 principles that have made America strong are important to keep in mind when we go to the voting booth. We need to vote for the one that most exemplifies these principles.