Popular Sovereignty
The people are the ultimate source of the authority of their government.
Limited Government
political structure where laws limit the powers of the government to avoid abuse
Separation of Powers
the legislative, executive, and judicial functions of government are divided among separate and independent branches
Checks and Balances
each branch is given power to check on the other two branches
Judicial Review
the power a court has to decide whether a law is constitutional
Federalism
power is equally distributed between a central government and state governments.