On Sovereignty

Are we in the United States sovereign individuals? I believe we are according to the U.S. Constitution. The purpose of this treatise is to investigate and expose the principals of not only what it means to be sovereign, but of sovereignty in general and whether the U.S. Constitution actually guarantees the individual sovereign status. This discourse will touch on the differences between republicanism, democracy and the actual make-up of the United States with regard to the U.S. Constitution as well as the beliefs of our founding fathers.

What is sovereignty? Black’s Law Dictionary 2^nd Ed. Defines sovereignty, “The possession of sovereign power; supreme political authority; paramount control of the constitution and frame of government and its administration; the self-sufficient source of political power, from which all specific political powers are derived.” By definition, sovereignty gives the ownership of power; ultimate political power to determine; preeminent direction over the make-up and structure of not only the government, but the administration of the government as well; the provision for one to supply for his own needs, sans external assistance; and the source of our ability to act with regard to politics.

According to 1215.org Lawnotes, “A republic and a democracy are identical in every aspect except one. In a republic the sovereignty is in each individual person. In a democracy the sovereignty is in the group.” This may seem like a very small distinction, but the difference is great. The individual’s sovereign status cannot be taken by the majority in a republic, with the exception in the U.S. being “100% of a jury convicts, then the individual loses sovereignty and is subject to group-think as in a democracy.” But, in a democracy, “The minority only has those privileges granted by the dictatorship of the majority.” A republic is, “That form of government in which the powers of sovereignty are vested in the people and exercised by the people, either directly, or through representatives chosen by the people, to whom those powers are specially delegated.” A Democracy is, “That form of government in which the sovereign power resides in and is exercised by the whole body of free citizens directly or indirectly through a system of representation, as distinguished from a monarchy, aristocracy, or oligarchy.” So, “In a republic the group only has advisory powers; the sovereign individual is free to reject the majority group-think.”

Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution states, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.” Article VI, Clause 2 states, “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof…under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land.” As unequivocally stated in the U.S. Constitution, the sovereign power which is vested in the people through Republicanism is guaranteed by the supreme Law of the Land, the Constitution of the United States. There can be no doubt, our forefathers, believed in the sovereign individual or the U.S. Constitution would clearly state, we the people of the United States are a democracy. Yet nowhere within the U.S. Constitution is the word democracy even mentioned.