Which concept means government authority comes from the people?

• A. Popular Sovereignty
• B. Preamble
• C. Physical Environment
• D. Polytheism

Answer: (A)

Popular sovereignty is the idea that government authority comes from the people. This means that citizens grant power to their government through consent, often expressed by voting and participating in civic life. In a democracy, legitimacy rests on the people’s consent, not on the decree of a ruler or tradition. The Constitution itself embodies this with the opening words “We the People,” signaling that the authority of the government flows from those it governs.

The other choices don’t capture where political power originates: a preamble outlines the goals and purposes of government, not the source of its authority; the physical environment is about geography and resources; and polytheism is a religious belief about many gods, unrelated to how a government obtains its power.