10th
Principle
The God-given right to govern
is vested in the sovereign authority
of the whole people.
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View of the American Founders
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There was no place for the idea of a divine right of kings
in the thinking of the American Founders. They subscribed
to the concept that rulers are servants of the people and all
sovereign authority to appoint or remove a ruler rests with
the people. They pointed out how this had been so with the
Anglo-Saxons from the beginning.
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"It is a maxim that in every government, there must
exist, somewhere, a supreme, sovereign, absolute, and
uncontrollable power; but this power resides always in
the body of the people; and it never was, or can be,
delegated to one man, or a few; the great Creator has
never given to men a right to vest others with authority
over them, unlimited either in duration or degree."
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"The adversaries of the Constitution seem to have
lost sight of the PEOPLE altogether in their reasonings
on this subject; and to have viewed these different
establishments not only as mutual rivals and enemies,
but as uncontrolled by any common superior in their
efforts to usurp the authorities of each other. These
gentlemen must here be reminded of their error. They
must be told that the ULTIMATE AUTHORITY, wherever
the derivative may be found, RESIDES IN THE PEOPLE
ALONE."
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