where did the idea of popular sovereignty come from
Popular sovereignty Popular sovereignty in its modern sense, is an idea that dates to the social contracts school (mid-17th to mid-18th centuries), represented by Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679), John Locke (1632–1704), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), author of The Social Contract, a prominent political work that clearly highlighted the ideals of "general will" and further matured the idea of popular sovereignty. The central tenet is that legitimacy of rule or of law is based on the consent of the governed. Popular sovereignty is thus a basic tenet of most Republics. Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau were the most influential thinkers of this school, all postulating that individuals choose to enter into a social contract with one another, thus voluntarily giving up some of their natural freedom in return for protection from dangers derived from the freedom of others. Whether men were seen as naturally more prone to violence and rapine (Hobbes) or cooperation and kindness (Rousseau), the idea that a legitimate social order emerges only when the liberties and duties are equal among citizens binds the social contract thinkers to the concept of popular sovereignty.
Limited government The original authors of the United States Constitution saw fit to limit the powers of government, as set forth in the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson. Here, Jefferson outlined three basic statements widely adhered to by the people of the American colonies. Supporters of the Declaration believed that these statements were not sufficiently adhered to by or through the English monarchy. In order to prevent this travesty the framers of the constitution made limited government a principle tenet of the constitution. Among the assertions were that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that governments are instituted in order to preserve these rights. It was the colonial experience of many Americans that the English government was not adhering to these premises, and it was for this reason that the colonies saw fit to establish their own government in which all three of these assertions would be respected.[3][4]