Establishing a Federal System: The federal system divided power between the federal government and state governments, limiting the power of any single entity to become tyrannical.
Separation of Powers: The Constitution divided power among three branches of the federal government (legislative, executive, and judicial) and outlined their specific responsibilities and limits.
Checks and Balances: Each branch of the federal government has mechanisms to check and balance the powers of the other branches, ensuring that no one branch becomes too powerful.
Limited Government: The founders created a government with limited powers explicitly defined in the Constitution. They intended to prevent government overreach and protect individual liberties.
Bill of Rights: The first ten amendments to the Constitution, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, outlined specific individual liberties, including freedom of speech, religion, the press, and the right to bear arms.
Independent Judiciary: The founders established an independent judicial branch to serve as an impartial interpreter of the law, protecting citizens' rights and holding government accountable.
Federalist Papers: Written by prominent founders like Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, these essays advocated for the ratification of the Constitution, detailing the checks and balances and safeguards to protect liberty.
Right to Vote: Although not universal initially, the founders expanded voting rights beyond landowners, including propertyless white males. This laid the foundation for future expansions of suffrage.
Checks and Balances at State Level: The founders also incorporated checks and balances at the state level, such as state constitutions outlining individual rights and separation of powers within each state.
These steps taken by the founders aimed to prevent despotism and ensure that individual liberty and freedom remained fundamental principles of the American political system.
