According to a different source, the question refers to the following passage from the Letters from Abigail Adams to John Adams:
<em>"How shall we be governed, so as to retain our liberties? Can any government be free, which is not administered by general stated laws? Who shall frame these laws? Who will give them force and energy? It is true, your resolutions, as a body, have hitherto had the force of laws; but will they continue to have?"</em>
One way in which this passage reflects on the philosophical debate in the late 18th and early 19th centuries is by discussing the subject of political rights. In this passage, the speaker wonders what gives laws its power. She seems to think that the power of the laws comes from the power of people, who hold sovereignty and should be able to decide who can rule them and how their rights should be protected. This was a common idea during these centuries, and one that was strongly opposed to the dominant systems of government.
