Although the founders believed that proper governmental structure was important and that they could help prevent corruption through the system of checks and balances, they did not have Locke’s faith in the perfectibility of humanity, nor did they follow him in rejecting the idea of original sin. Thus they did not elaborate the system of government in as much detail as Locke did, but instead argued that the key to keeping the government from turning into a tyranny was the quality of the people elected to office.
