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popular sovereignty

pop·u·lar sov·er·eign·ty


noun 
Definition:
 
1. government's subjection to people: the doctrine that the people are sovereign and a government is subject to the will of the people

2. doctrine permitting choice on slavery: a pre-Civil War political doctrine that held that individual states should decide whether to permit slavery or not. It was espoused mainly by opponents of the abolition of slavery.

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