Use this American Government by the People video entitled The Living Constitution to understand how government works and to study how the Constitution of the United States grants and limits powers. The framers established a government by ordinary people. They did not anticipate Americans would be so virtuous and civic-minded that they could be trusted to operate a government without checks and balances. The framers were suspicious of people, especially of those having political power, so they separated and distributed the powers of the newly created national government in a variety of ways. The framers were also concerned with creating a national government strong enough to solve national problems. Thus, they gave the national government substantial grants of power, but these grants were made with such broad strokes that it has been possible for the constitutional system to remain flexible and adapt to changing conditions.
Learn about The Living Constitution.