How was our Constitution designed to protect liberty and prevent tyranny? After discussing the structural constraints the Constitution places on political power, and the ways in which the principles and institutions of federalism and the separation of powers function in our system of republican government, Professor George turned to the question of whether the system is intended to eliminate the need for virtue in the people, or whether, on the contrary, it presupposes and requires a reasonably virtuous citizenry. If the latter, how are essential civic virtues to be cultivated and maintained? In exploring this question we begin to perceive the critical importance of non-governmental institutions of civil society (beginning with the marriage-based family) to the success of the American experiment in morally-ordered liberty.