Federalism, Separation of Powers, and Individual Liberties

In a world that the Framers hardly could have anticipated, the Constitution remains a singularly effective instrument for the pres- ervation of individual liberty. In its allocation of power between the states and the federal government, it provides Americans with multiple champions of their rights--the federal government, which protects a liberty that is constantly evolving to adapt traditional values to new realities, and the state governments, which protect the basic liberties to which mankind has always been entitled. In its allocation of power between the branches of the federal government, the Constitution provides us with a polity possessing powers adequate to provide for our security and prosperity. Yet these powers are sufficiently diffused to pose no irresistible threat to individual liberty. In protecting liberty, the Constitution contin- ues to legitimize itself as a compact for the governance of a free people