One of the clearest themes running through America’s founding documents is a deep concern about concentrated power. The founders did not believe that tyranny arose only from bad people; they believed it often emerged from good intentions combined with unchecked authority. Their experience, their study of history, and their understanding of human nature convinced them…
When Americans think about the United States Constitution, they often focus on the rights it protects. Equally important, however, is what the Constitution restrains. From its very beginning, the Constitution was deliberately designed to limit power—not because the founders distrusted government entirely, but because they understood human nature well enough to know that unchecked power…
