U.S. history concepts · AP U.S. History
Popular sovereignty
Popular sovereignty: In the sectional crisis, the idea that settlers in a territory should vote on whether to allow slavery; more broadly, the principle that government's authority comes from the people.
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What it means
In the 1840s and 1850s, popular sovereignty was promoted as a compromise that would let territories decide the slavery question themselves. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 applied it, leading to violent conflict in Kansas as pro- and antislavery settlers rushed in.
In AP U.S. Government, popular sovereignty refers to the broader principle that the people are the source of political power, as reflected in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution's preamble.
Example
Violence in 'Bleeding Kansas' in the mid-1850s showed that letting settlers decide slavery deepened the conflict.
On the exam
Know both meanings: the sectional-crisis policy in APUSH Period 5 and the democratic principle in AP Gov Unit 1.
Lessons and practice questions
Related terms
- Missouri CompromiseThe 1820 agreement that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state and banned slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36°30′.
- FederalismA system in which power is divided between a national government and state governments, each with its own areas of authority.