Union of Democratic Control Quotes
No Province shall be transferred from one Government to another without the consent by plebiscite or otherwise of the population of such Province.
The manifesto was designed to stop the practice of one country annexing part of another either by conquest or by purchase from the previous dominant power. Nations would trade and sell colonies or provinces to each other without any thought whatsoever to the wishes of the populations of those territories.
Union of Democratic Control, British Peace Organization, Manifesto, August, 1914
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This illustrated the problem with Nazi Germany where Hitler was elected by the people. In a Constitutional democracy such as the United States, when an elected President attempts to cut away constitutionally insured freedoms, there is public opinion, the press, a Congress and a Supreme Court to check him as occurred in the George W. Bush Administration over wiretapping, torture, and handing of war captives. These were checked, but they were minor and trivial compared to Nazi Germany’s abuse of freedom. In Germany, Hitler weakened or destroyed all those who might check his power and therein lies the essential difference. The despot must eliminate or weaken the checks on him. In the American democracy, the Congress finally checked John Adams’ Alien & Sedition Act as did public opinion by turning him out of office after one term. But in each case, in democracy or dictatorship, the same argument is often made if the elected leader impinges on some freedoms: it is legitimate because he represents the will of the people. Spencer and many others have always disagreed.
French Canadian separatists had begun a movement for an independent Quebec. The area that was to be an independent nation, however, included the land of several Indian tribes including the Cree. They insisted on the same right of self-determination within Quebec as the French Canadians claimed within Canada. Their opposition among others led to the failure of the Meech Lake Accord.
The State Constitutional ratification convention for Constitutional amendments is
The Tennessee legislature nominated Jackson for President.
The Union of Democratic Control was a British pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive foreign policy. While not a pacifist organisation, it was opposed to military influence in government.
