All legitimate power emanates from the people. This is the undisputed principle of popular sovereignty. However, from the beginning, it has been open to different interpretations. For example, the French Revolution replaced royal sovereignty with the single and unified will of the nation. This was to be crystallized out of the multitude of individual wills in parliament. The American interpretation was different. For James Madison, the people were not an a priori unity of will. In a democracy, the majority decides, simply and clearly. For him, representation became a technique for making political decisions. Nevertheless, it was important to Madison that the representatives who actively took on legislative functions should not be too far removed from the voters. He, therefore, called for regular elections to remind representatives of their “dependence on the people” (James Madison, 19 February 1788, The Federalist 2005, [1994] 310–311).