Question

Which idea did the creators of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution see as important?

State governments should be able to function with the exact same laws.
The people have certain rights to protect them from the abuse of power.
The founders allowed the people to make all the decisions in how the government works.
They established a unitary system that would allow the government more power.

Answer 1

The idea that the creators of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution saw as important is:

The people have certain rights to protect them from the abuse of power.

All three of these foundational documents in American history— the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution—emphasize the importance of protecting individual rights and limiting the potential for the abuse of power by the government. This idea is particularly evident in the Declaration of Independence, which asserts the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and states that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution also incorporate mechanisms and checks and balances to prevent the concentration of power and to safeguard the rights of individuals and states.