“ From the nature of things, every society must at all times possess within itself the sovereign powers of legislation. ”
Thomas Jefferson, A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774). copy citation
| Author | Thomas Jefferson |
|---|---|
| Source | A Summary View of the Rights of British America |
| Topic | society power |
| Date | 1774 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/jeffsumm.asp |
Context
“But your majesty, or your governors, have carried this power beyond every limit known, or provided for, by the laws: After dissolving one house of representatives, they have refused to call another, so that, for a great length of time, the legislature provided by the laws has been out of existence. From the nature of things, every society must at all times possess within itself the sovereign powers of legislation. The feelings of human nature revolt against the supposition of a state so situated as that it may not in any emergency provide against dangers which perhaps threaten immediate ruin. While those bodies are in existence to whom the people have delegated the powers of legislation, they alone possess and may exercise those powers;”
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