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The Constitution establishes a federal and state government designed to protect the rights and liberties of the people of the United States and to remain accountable to them through elections. It guarantees a republican form of government in the states, the freedoms of expression, assembly, and petition, and due process of law. The Framers of the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-Sixth Amendments expanded these protections by guaranteeing equal protection under the law and extending the franchise to all citizens age 18 and older. These provisions are substantive protections designed to ensure that government remains representative of, responsive to, and accountable to the people.