Limited Government and the System of

Checks and Balances

• As colonists, Americans had lived under a British government with nearly absolute power

• To avoid this abuse of power, the framers of the Constitution made limited government a principle of the Constitution

Limited Government

•  In a limited government, the government only has the powers that the Constitution gives it

• The central government can only exercise those powers explicitly listed in the Constitution

• Also, no one is above the law and everyone must follow the law

Limited Government

“In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this, you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.”

- Federalist Paper #51, James Madison

• To further limit the powers of the government, a system of checks and balances has been created due to the separation of powers within government

• Each branch of government has the power to check, or limit, the actions of the other two which creates a balance of power in government

Checks and Balances