ABSTRACT
Introduction The phrase “civil liberty” at the time of the American founding carried a meaning different than today. It related to the right of the people to constitute government. Popular sovereignty lay at the heart of the concept-the people as the source of state legitimacy. A quasinationalist-republican form of government followed. The legislative, executive, and judicial branches each answered to the people, albeit in different ways. The Framers considered all three branches responsible for the protection and interpretation of the constitution. But the almost immediate adoption of a bill of rights and a series of legal cases helped the judicial branch to emerge as the primary guardian of rights.
