Final answer:
The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution introduces the principle of Popular Sovereignty, asserting that all governmental power derives from the people. This concept is interwoven with the checks and balances system to protect individual rights and prevent any one governmental branch from acquiring excessive power.
Step-by-step explanation:
The basic principle of government introduced in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution is Popular Sovereignty. This concept is evident from the opening words of the Constitution, "We the People," indicating that the government's power comes from the consent of the governed. The Preamble sets forth the idea that the people hold ultimate authority, and the government exists to serve them. In the context of the Constitution, it establishes that the source of governmental power lies with the people, and the government can govern only with the consent of the governed. This is a cornerstone of American democracy, reflecting the Enlightenment idea that legitimate political power must originate from the people's will.
Popular sovereignty is interwoven with other critical concepts such as limited government, as the framers believed that the best way to protect individual rights was to limit the power of government. In conjunction with this, the checks and balances system was devised to prevent any one branch from having too much power, thus ensuring that governance remained a function of mutual cooperation and oversight within the government structure and honoring the sovereignty of the citizenry.