Declaration of Independence:
By birth, every person has specific, unchangeable rights.
Government is a necessary evil. People form government to protect these rights. It is the only legitimate function of government.
Government that fails in its one task to protect individual rights is illegitimate and will naturally be changed or abolished.

The Constitution:
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
Federal powers are enumerated. If they are not specifically granted in the Constitution, they are not legitimate Federal powers.
Government is divided into three branches with a series of checks and balances to offset the natural tendency for corruption and the infringement of individual rights.
Details the specifics of how the Federal government is structured.

The Bill of Rights:
Added guarantee to secure people’s individual rights.
Lists some specific individual rights
Capped off with the 9th and 10th Amendments which emphasize:
 1.) just because a specific right is not listed doesn’t mean it isn’t also a right
 2.) reemphasizes that powers not specifically granted to the Federal Government belong to either the States or to the People.