Editing Authority (section)

== United States ==
The foundation of American legitimate authority rests on the [[consent of the governed]]. This understanding of political authority and the exercise of [[Political power in the United States over time|political powers]] in the American context traces back to the writings of the [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Fathers]], including the arguments put forward in ''[[The Federalist Papers]]'' by [[James Madison]], [[Alexander Hamilton]] and the first chief justice of the United States [[John Jay]], and was referenced in the unanimous [[United States Declaration of Independence]]:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm |title=The Declaration of Independence |access-date=2009-07-27 |archive-date=2009-08-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802210214/http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/index.htm |url-status=live }}{{full citation needed|date=November 2012}}</ref>

<blockquote>We hold these truths to be self-evident, that [[all men are created equal]], that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are [[Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness]].--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the {{em|consent of the governed}}, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.</blockquote>

Later, speeches by the 16th [[president of the United States]] [[Abraham Lincoln]] would reiterate this fundamental source of legitimacy. "Our government rests in public opinion," Lincoln said in 1856.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Guelzo |first=Allen C. |title=Lincoln Speeches |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2012 |location=New York |page=}}</ref>{{rp|21}} In his 1854 speech at [[Peoria, Illinois]], Lincoln espoused the proposition “that each man should do precisely as he pleases with all which is exclusively his own," a principle existing "at the foundation of the sense of justice."<ref name=":1" />{{rp|47}} This sense of personal ownership and stewardship was integral to the practice of self-government as Lincoln saw it by a [[Republicanism|Republican]] nation and its people. This was because, as Lincoln also declared, "No man is good enough to govern another man, without that other's consent."<ref name=":1" />{{rp|48}}

The U.S. president is called to give account to the legislature for the conduct of the whole government, including that of regulatory agencies. The president influences the appointments, and the budgeting process and has the right and capacity to review regulatory rules on a case-by-case basis. Since the time of the [[Reagan administration scandals|Reagan administration]] the president was informed with a [[cost–benefit analysis]] of the regulation.<ref name="Droit et économie de la régulation" /> The creation of a [[regulatory agency]] requires an [[Act of Congress]] which specifies its jurisdiction, the related authority and delegated powers. Regulatory authorities can be qualified as independent agencies or executive branch agencies, a choice which is the reason of struggle between congress and the president as well as with the American courts. The latter's role is limited by the authorities' power to regulate [[property rights]] without the [[Substantive due process|due process]] rights mandatorily applied by the courts.<ref name="Droit et économie de la régulation">{{cite book | first = John | last = Ferejohn | author-link = John Ferejohn | url = https://www.cairn.info/droit-et-economie-de-la-regulation-1--9782247056965-page-35.htm?contenu=resume# | chapter = The Authority of Regulation and the Control of Regulators | language = en | title = Droit et économie de la régulation | oclc =7292576035| isbn =9782724686463| year = 2004 | pages = 35–37 | publisher= [[Cairn.info]] |via=archive.today/IA9DF archive.is| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201003145258/https://www.cairn.info/droit-et-economie-de-la-regulation-1--9782247056965-page-35.htm?contenu=resume | archive-date = October 3, 2020 | url-status = live | editor = Marie-Anne Frison-Roche }}</ref>