Final answer:
The correct option is C. The Declaration of Independence is the best example of a historical precedent for popular sovereignty as it was built on the entitlement to rights established by the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights, which informed the foundational principles of democracy in the United States.
Step-by-step explanation:
The historical precedent for popular sovereignty is best exemplified by the Declaration of Independence. The basic premise of the Declaration revolves around the idea that colonists, as British citizens, were entitled to all of the rights and privileges granted by prior foundational documents such as the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights of 1689. These documents set forth principles that the King was not above the law, and that the people had rights, such as having a say in taxation and entitlement to a trial by a jury of peers.
The English Bill of Rights specifically established a constitutional monarchy, emphasized Parliament's independence, and guaranteed certain freedoms and rights to English subjects, which directly informed the democratic ideals that would later structure the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.