The American system of government regulates power through each state. The system delineates the whole and the part. The preset organization of each state absorbs the aggregate power of the federal government through individual protections enumerated in the Bill of Rights. Leaders at the top are entrusted to think for the whole. Leaders are held accountable when they revert to arbitrary powers against the individual. Arbitrary power is an abuse of power.
The Bill of Rights is anchored by the Tenth Amendment. The powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to each state, and the people, respectively. The Constitution created a new government. The primary concern of the new government was whether it would abuse power. Absolutism was known in the eighteenth century and illustrated in Thomas Hobbes' political treatise, Leviathan. Absolutism concentrated power that was unchecked. The aphorism, 'absolute power, corrupts absolutely' is a warning that too much power in a single person or entity will result in abuse and corruption. The American system of government separated power into three branches, ensuring that power would be checked. Unlimited power is despotic, arbitrary, and eventually menacing.
Separation of power regulates power at the top, while the Bill of Rights regulates power at the bottom. Power flowing down upon the aggregate population is filtered through the Bill of Rights, which defends each individual within each state. The source of the federal government's power comes from the people by consent. We the people delegate power to the federal government through the instrument of state governments. Representatives of each state convened in a congress. This congress guarantees the federal government will only have powers that are consented and authorized by each state, and people. The federal government cannot create powers for itself. Their power is invested by consent of the governed.
The Tenth Amendment positions the source of federal powers and shelters individual rights under the umbrella of each state. The laws of each state are derived from common law and are the means by which individuals are protected from federal powers. The Bill of Rights summarizes the basic concepts of legal protections first established in the colonies and later preserved by the Constitution and function of each state. Each state preserves the right to a trial by jury, the right of privacy, encapsulated by unwarranted search and seizure, and the right to petition grievances. The system of government necessitated the right to due process of law. The law must be administered according to a known process which is provided to everyone. Police power is reserved to each state and not delegated to the federal government. Police power is the furthest reach of a judge's court. An order can only be executed with police power, otherwise the order is powerless.
The federal government makes decisions for the whole nation. The executive, legislative, and judicial together decide in aggregates, meaning the whole population at one time. They are delegated this power, and the individual within the whole is shielded from potential violations. Individual rights define a person. The autonomy of the individual is needed for accountability of action, which the law is dependent on. Federal decisions that affect the whole cannot reasonably anticipate specific individual claims. Therefore, if individual rights are violated, then redress and relief are possible through each state government.
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