<P> Popular sovereignty is a doctrine rooted in the belief that each citizen has sovereignty over themselves . Citizens may unite and offer to delegate a portion of their sovereign powers and duties to those who wish to serve as officers of the state, contingent on the officers agreeing to serve according to the will of the people . In the United States, the term has been used to express this concept in constitutional law . It was also used during the 19th century in reference to a proposed solution to the debate over the expansion of slavery . The proposal would have given the power to determine the legality of slavery to the inhabitants of the territory seeking statehood, rather than to Congress . </P> <P> The concept of popular sovereignty (from which the consent of the governed derives its importance) did not originate in North America; its intellectual roots can be traced back to 17th - and 18th - century European political philosophy . The American contribution was the translation of these ideas into a formal structure of government . Before the American Revolution, there were few examples of a people creating their own government . Most had experienced government as an inheritance--as monarchies or other expressions of power . </P>

The declaration of independence reflects the idea of popular sovereignty because it