Popular Sovereignty, Limited Government, Separation of Powers Checks and Balances, Judicial Review Federalism, people are the source of any and all governmental power, and government can exist only with the consent of the governed. government is restricted in what it may do, and each individual has rights that government cannot take away. Legislative, Executive, and Judicial powers are divided among three independent and coequal branches of government. system of overlapping powers to permit each branch to check the actions of others. the power of a court to determine the constitutionality of a governmental action. system of government in which a written constitution divides power between a central, or national, government and several regional governments. it basically keeps our counrty up and running effectively. I hope this was helpful :P