Discussion Thread: Colonial Constitution and Popular Sovereignty
Reading: Tocqueville Ch. 3 & 4; McClellan pp. 89 – 111, 167 – 170; & articles
How does Tocqueville define the principle of popular sovereignty? What is new about that
principle in Tocqueville’s view? In what ways is this principle evident in or protected by colonial
constitutions?
Tocqueville contends that the principle of popular sovereignty is the idea that the will of the
people is what creates and establishes the government. He states that this principle can almost
always be found in all humans, even if not recognized and when recognized pushed back down1.
However, that within America, this principle is not hidden at all; it is what dictates the rules of
the American society. Tocqueville holds that popular sovereignty is that the whole people is to
govern themselves,
“The people participate in the composition of the laws by the choice of the legislators, in
their application by the election of the agents of executive power…The people rule the
American political world as God rules the universe. They are the cause and the end of all
things; everything arises from them, and everything is absorbed by them2.”
Tocqueville also discusses the exterior and interior parts to a society in which could be obstacles
to the principle of popular sovereignty3. The exterior of society being brought to the principle of
popular sovereignty by the laws and government transitioning to being ruled by the people it
governs and the interior of society transitioning to the principle of popular sovereignty by the
law of inheritance changing which then dismantled local influences of aristocracy4.
This concept is deemed new to Tocqueville because having the government be answerable to the
people it governs at the time was not the normal way of government to operate. As mentioned
before, the principle of popular sovereignty itself is not new but the way in which it rules is new.
Tocqueville even admits that this principle does exist in “nearly all human institutions,” but
“ordinarily remains there as if buried5.” What is new about this principle according to
Tocqueville is that it is no longer buried in America6. It shines through in everything. It is the
law. The countries those who migrated to the New World originated from did not have this
unchecked popular sovereignty, instead they an aristocratic view. This can be seen in more south
of New England in the colonies – they were more influenced by the countries which they
migrated from bringing that aristocratic influence with them7. Specifically, the right to vote was
restricted, even in New England but even more so in the South.
This brings in the ways in which the principle of popular sovereignty was seen in the colonies.
The colonies at first could not be completely governed by the principle of popular sovereignty,
1 Alex De Tocqueville, Democracy in America (London England: Penguin Books, [1835] 2003, 91.
2 Alex De Tocqueville, Democracy in America (London England: Penguin Books, [1835] 2003, 97.
3 Alex De Tocqueville, Democracy in America (London England: Penguin Books, [1835] 2003, 92.
4 Alex De Tocqueville, Democracy in America (London England: Penguin Books, [1835] 2003, 92-94.
5 Alex De Tocqueville, Democracy in America (London England: Penguin Books, [1835] 2003, 91.
6 Ibid
7 Alex De Tocqueville, Democracy in America (London England: Penguin Books, [1835] 2003, 92.
this concept was there, just more in secret8. The colonies were still ruled by their home country
so popular sovereignty could not be in the laws, however it did appear in the towns and in the
people9. I think this is evident by how rapidly Tocqueville explains the interior of society
transitioned. He even states, “So the upper classes submitted without a murmur and without a
fight to an evil henceforth inevitable10.” And even though their right to vote was restricted, “At
every moment you can see them performing some act of sovereignty; they name their
magistrates, make peace and war, establish regulations for public order, provide laws for
themselves as if they were answerable only to God alone11.” This principle of popular
sovereignty is also evident by the way they created a community that reflected republicanism, by
embracing the concept they did not have to be ruled by a monarch but could govern themselves12.
Krause uses Tocqueville’s conversations with Jared Sparks to demonstrate that there was already
the practice of self-government and sovereignty in the colonial period,
“I believe,” Tocqueville quoted Sparks as saying, “that our government and customs are
best explained by our origins. Upon arriving here we were already republicans and
zealous Christians…But our ancestors founded towns before there was a state…You will
anticipate the extent to which such a point of departure must have strengthened not only
republican principles but also the town spirit that is such a prominent distinguishing
characteristic of New England, even among Americans13.”
There is a lot of talk in the Bible about freedom, freedom from sin, slavery, free will…so one can
imagine that freedom is an important aspect to Christianity. Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “Now the
Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom14.” However, I fear the
countries where the immigrants to the New World came from would say the Spirit of the Lord
was there. But those countries did not necessarily have freedom and then I saw where Peter says,
“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as
servants of God15.” Other Christian denominations and people use their religion and those
freedoms as a cover-up to do evil, and this even happened in the colonies with certain laws
created. But that we should strive to use the freedom to serve God, there freedom will stay. This
ties into linking consent to join a community into a kind of covenant, which has religious
overtones. This consent allows the establishment of an authority in the community and allows
them to serve God and then God transmits his sovereignty to the people16. To me it all seems a
cycle, we use the free will God gives us to do good for him and in return he gives back.
8 Ibid
9 Ibid
10 Alex De Tocqueville, Democracy in America (London England: Penguin Books, [1835] 2003, 94.
11 Alex De Tocqueville, Democracy in America (London England: Penguin Books, [1835] 2003), 61.
12 James McClellan, Liberty, Order, and Justice: An Introduction to the Constitutional Principles of American
Government (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2000), 18.
13 Skadi Krause, “Tocqueville on American Federalism, Self-Government, and the Decentralization of
Administration in France.” In Theories of Modern Federalism (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2019), 189.
14 2 Cor. 3:17 (ESV)
15 1 Peter 2:16 (ESV)
16 Donald S. Lutz, “From Convention to Constitution in American Political Thought,” Oxford University Press 10, no.
4 (1980), 109.
Bibliography:
Krause, Skadi. “Tocqueville on American Federalism, Self-Government, and the
Decentralization of Administration in France.” In Theories of Modern Federalism.
Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2019.
Lutz, Donald S. “From Covenant to Constitution in American Political Thought.” Oxford
University Press 10, no. 4 (1980): 101-33.
Mcclellan, James. Liberty, Order, and Justice: An Introduction to the Constitutional Principles of
American Government. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2000.
Tocqueville, Alexis De. Democracy in America. London England: Penguin Books, (1835) 2003.
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