That's the middle school "checks and balances" view. There is a lot more to it than that. The U.S. government was a desperate reaction to the the ineffective government under the Articles of Confederation. Indeed, the federalists would have made it even stronger if they thought the states would have ratified it.
Well I disagree with you there, I think it is quite apparent that is what they meant. I also believe that freedom of religion was meant to be used as a catchall freedom. It hasn't yet, but maybe it will later.
