“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” assess the extent to which this idea affected the creation of the US government.

The Founding Fathers created the U.S. government to have numerous checks and balances as well as a VERY limited central (federal) government. They did this to prevent a relapse of the tyranny (hence “absolute power”) they dealt with under the British Empire. The American colonies were essentially meant to serve the mother nation (Britain), but the colonists braved the journey to America to establish a new, freer nation with religious freedom as its top priority.
To prove this quote is still relevant today, it’s not unknown that when humans acquire power, it’s very easy for them to abuse that power. Examples of this would be the oligarchies we see in Russia and China with a very small amount of people in power living in a lap of luxury while everyone else lives a subpar life.