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James Madison and other leaders in the American Revolution employed the term "popular government" to signify the ideal of a democratic, or "popular," government — a government, as Abraham Lincoln later put it, of the people, by the people, and for the people. In that spirit, Popular Government offers research and analysis on state and local government in North Carolina and other issues of public concern. For, as Madison said, "A people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."