Featuring: Larry Kenneth Alexander
Parliamentary Sovereignty Transcript:
Today, we reflect on a constitutional journey that shaped not only a kingdom but also the ideals of colonial self-governance and liberty. The British constitutional system is a tapestry woven with struggles for power and triumphs for justice, rooted in the principle of parliamentary sovereignty. This principle, borne through centuries of conflict and crystallized by the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the English Bill of Rights of 1689, declared that Parliament reigned supreme. Its power to create, amend, and repeal laws in the kingdom stood unmatched, its authority absolute. Once Parliament spoke, its words became the law of the land—unyielding and supreme. No custom, entrenched practice, or local decree could stand in Parliament’s way. This principle elevated the rule of law over tyranny and promised order over chaos.
In 1766, the British Imperial government exercised its authority through the American Colonies Act, also known as the Declaratory Act. This act reaffirmed Parliament’s legislative supremacy across the Kingdom. It did more than assert control; it legislatively struck down colonial America’s oppressive slave codes and hereditary laws. These colonial laws had long denied the ideals enshrined in the English Bill of Rights, the foundation of liberty and justice in the kingdom. Parliament’s decision to abolish these codes was a clarion call for the universal rule of law. Yet the institution of slavery in the colonies persisted, not because Parliament faltered, but because the corrupt hands of colonial governance clung to their exploitation and graft.
Justice, however, is persistent. It finds its voice in the darkest times and its champions in the unlikeliest places. In June 1772, the case of Somerset v. Stewart reached the highest court in England, and Lord Chief Justice Mansfield delivered a verdict that would echo across the Atlantic and down the ages. He called slavery odious and declared it had no legal basis in the kingdom. Mansfield’s words struck at the heart of slavery’s moral and legal deficiencies. Slavery could not exist in the kingdom or its territories without positive law—an explicit act of Parliament, which had never been passed. This decision was not just a victory for one man; it was the final nail in the coffin for the legal defense of slavery in the American colonies. The argument that local laws allowed slavery crumbled under the weight of Parliament’s abolition of colonial slave codes in 1766.
The Somerset case reinforced that no colony, governor, or corrupt assembly could deny the supreme legislative authority of Parliament. The institution of slavery, clinging desperately to life in the colonies, had been rendered illegal by both the American Colonies Act and the principles of English common law. And yet, history shows us that while laws may guide the path, humans will walk it. The colonies, rife with corruption and profit-driven motives, resisted this justice. They ignored the unmistakable voice of Parliament and the courts. They turned away from the ideals of liberty, even as they declared their own desire for it.
But let us remember this: The story of Somerset, the American Colonies Act, and the battle against slavery is not merely a tale of laws and rulings. It is a reminder of the power of justice, of a Parliament that dared to speak against tyranny, and of a people who one day would rise to make those ideals real. Let us take inspiration from these moments of courage and principle. Fighting for freedom and justice is never easy, but it is always right. Let us ensure that the law of the land is not just written in statutes, but etched into the very soul of our society.
Please share this message and visit our website at the Wells Center on American Exceptionalism. Look for future videos.