Lincoln’s Construction of the Consent Principle and the Right of Revolution in the Secession Crisis

Abstract

In a speech at Paris, Illinois, in 1858, during his debates with Stephen A. Douglas, Abraham Lincoln posed the question: “What does Popular Sovereignty mean?” “Strictly and literally,” Lincoln said, it meant “the Right of the People of every nation and community to govern themselves.” He further observed that the “idea of popular sovereignty was floating around the world several ages before [Douglas] saw daylight—indeed, before Columbus set foot on the American continent.” In 1776, however, “it took tangible form” in the words of the Declaration of Independence, which stated that to secure the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness “governments were instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Lincoln proclaimed: “If that is not Popular Sovereignty, then I have no conception of the meaning of words.”1KeywordsDirect DemocracyState SovereigntySocial Contract TheoryPolitical SocietyVoluntary ConsentThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.