What It Means
What is meant by constitutionally limited government? It means that the power of the federal government is limited, per the Constitution.
The Founders believed in limited government so much that they made it one of the pillars of the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution contains three fundamental arrangements:
- Representative government which is the basis of the three branches of government, per the first three articles of the Constitution;
- Separation of powers, as embodied in those three branches; and
- Limited government, which is reflected in the doctrine of enumerated powers.
Where are the enumerated powers of Congress within the Constitution? Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution specifically lists the things that Congress can do, and the things that are not listed it may not do. How many enumerated powers are there in Article I, Section 8? Eighteen.
The doctrine of enumerated powers—the main restraint on the federal government — was most famously stated by James Madison in Federalist 45 in 1788:
"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government, are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State."
Notice those words: “few and defined.” The federal government was to have only limited responsibilities. Most power was to be left with the state governments. They were closer to the people who could then better control them. Unequivocally, the Founders thought it important to preserve the states’ sovereignty and power over their own citizens.
This pillar of limited federal authority is further cemented in the 10th Amendment, which states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
So-called progressives are opposed to the structure of government imposed by the Constitution’s foundation – particularly limited government.
Why It Matters
Why was limited government so important to the Founders? In a nutshell, they understood enduring human nature.
"Human nature is such that human beings need to be governed, said James Madison. "We need government if we are not to descend into anarchy. But since human beings will make up the government, government itself must be limited or it will become tyrannical. Just as we outside the government need to be governed, those inside the government require to be governed."
The Founders believed that individual liberty could only be secured and sustained by limited government. They feared excessive centralized power – precisely what we see in Washington today. Power corrupts, and total power corrupts totally. More specifically, the bigger the government, smaller the individual.
This leads us to today, and the problem at hand.
The Problem
For many years now, we have moved far away from the principle and reality of constitutionally limited government. So much so that brazen politicians such as Nancy Pelosi scoff when questioned about the federal government’s authority to enact controversial legislation. This is not how the Founders intended things to be; this is not how the Constitution – which is the law of the land – was designed.
The federal government has effectively gone rogue on the states and the people. What we have today, after decades of incessantly creeping overreach, is a federal government that has become a veritable Leviathan with its oppressive tentacles trampling on the rights of states and infringing on the liberties of individuals. A mere sampling of such government overreach is documented here.
We have lost constitutionally limited government directly and indirectly. Directly, laws have been passed and enacted that go beyond the enumerated constitutional powers granted to Congress. Indirectly, we have literally dozens of government agencies and millions of unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats – we now have approximately 3 million non-military federal government employees – creating regulations that broadly and substantially impact states, businesses, and individuals – in ways that were never intended by the Founders and are inconsistent with the Constitution.
Of course, one of the other major abuses is the spending and debt crisis. In 1961, the federal government spent just under $100 billion. In 1981, it was under $700 billion. In 2011, it was 3.6 trillion. And in 2017 it was over $4 trillion. We now have a federal government that has accumulated over $20 trillion in debt, almost half of it in the last 10 years.
If the government ran a surplus of $100 billion per year every year, it would take 200 years to pay off the current debt. However, the government has only run a surplus 5 out of the last 50 years. Our elected politicians are not being forthright about how unsustainable the current spending and future debt obligations are.
The Remedy
It has been articulately noted by many, the problem cannot be solved by Washington itself.
Like many, I thought the ship could be righted by electing the right folks. But I’m now convinced that our federal government will never rein itself in. I see the Convention of States Project as our best hope to restore our constitutional republic. That is, constitutionally limited government, fiscal discipline, state sovereignty, and individual liberty. To be able to do so within the construct of our existing Constitution – via Article V – is a beautiful thing.
One of the key goals of the Article V Project is to restore constitutionally limited government. The Article V Project resolution calls for a Convention of States to consider and propose constitutional amendments that would:
- Impose fiscal restraints on the federal government,
- Limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and/or
- Set term limits on federal officials and members of Congress.
A Convention of States is the best hope to effectively, permanently, and safely restore the balance of power between the federal government, the states, and We the People.
To learn more about the Convention of States Project, to help restore constitutionally limited government, and to help make a difference for generations to come, visit our action page.
Sources: Hillsdale College, The Heritage Foundation, COS Project, www.whitehouse.gov
