The framers of the U.S. Constitution carefully designed the system of government to prevent tyranny and to protect the rights of individuals. They drew inspiration from the writings of philosophers such as Montesquieu, who argued that the best way to prevent tyranny was to separate the powers of government into three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial.
By dividing power among three branches, the framers created a system of checks and balances. This means that each branch of government has the ability to limit the power of the other branches. For example, the executive branch can veto laws passed by the legislative branch, while the legislative branch can impeach and remove the president. The judicial branch can declare laws passed by the legislative branch to be unconstitutional.
This system of checks and balances helps to ensure that no one branch of government becomes too powerful. It also helps to protect the rights of individuals by ensuring that no single entity can infringe upon them.