ABSTRACT
At the inception of the republic, no question aroused as much passion as did the proper scope of the federal government. The founding fathers decided on an institutional structure that required the assent of several diverse constituencies (those electing the House, Senate, and president) before a bill was passed. The veto power provided an additional check on government, as did the institution of federalism, which served further to fragment government in the new
republic. These institutional features were a product of, and were reinforced by, a public philosophy of limited government. From the very beginning, Americans accepted that government was a necessary evil and that essential services such as law and order, sanitation, and education should be provided by state and local governments rather than the federal government. The first ten amendments to the Constitution (the Bill of Rights) provided citizens with legal protection from a potentially intrusive central government. In particular, the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech, assembly, and religion were, and remain, bulwarks against the power of the state. Americans also mistrusted standing armies. Instead they placed their faith in a people’s militia or, later, in armies and navies that would be largely disbanded once a national emergency had passed.
