Popular Sovereignty History

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The meaning and application of popular sovereignty has drastically changed due to many changed made to the constitution and many new laws put in place. In the beginning of the United State’s government, there were very few people that had a say in the government and could vote on changes to the government. Before many of the current amendments and laws were put into place, only old, white men that were property owners had an influence on the government. Popular sovereignty was very limited to a small amount of people in the United States, that often did not represent the majority of the country.
Several amendments have been added to the Constitution to make popular sovereignty more broad and fair to minorities in the United States. Amendments such as the Fifteenth Amendment have changed the application of popular sovereignty. The Fifteenth Amendment grants African American men the right to vote. Still, many states enacted racist laws that made it impossible for many African Americans to vote. The Ninteenth Amendment also changed the application of popular sovereignty. The Ninteenth Amendment grants women the right to …show more content…
The case Baker v. Carr changed the application of popular sovereignty by preventing peoples votes from being cancelled out due to congressional districts and reapportionment. The case Reynolds v. Sims ruled that state’s legislative districts be equal in population. Laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1957 also changed the application of popular sovereignty. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 allowed federal courts to register African Americans to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prevented obstacles like literacy tests from being put in place to prevent African Americans from voting, changed popular sovereignty by allowing more minorities to vote and be represented in the

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