How did the Revolution redefine the concept of national sovereignty?

• A. Sovereignty shifted from the king to the people/nation, with the nation as the source of legitimacy and authority in law and government.
• B. Sovereignty remained with the monarchy but delegated to councils.
• C. Sovereignty became a property of the nobility.
• D. Sovereignty was transferred to foreign powers via treaties.

Answer: (A)

The main idea being tested is that sovereignty shifts from a king to the people and the nation, aligning authority with popular will rather than hereditary rule. In the French Revolution, thinkers and political actors argued that legitimate authority comes from the general will of citizens, not from divine right or a monarch. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen embodies this by declaring that sovereignty resides in the nation and is exercised through laws created to reflect the people’s will, often through elected representatives. This reframed government as existing to serve the people and to be legitimized by their consent, rather than being bound to a monarch’s prerogatives. The other paths—keeping sovereignty with a monarch, with a privileged class, or surrendering it to foreign powers—would contradict the Revolution’s move toward national self-rule and equality.