Which principle asserts that the government is limited by law and must protect individual rights?

• A. Federalists
• B. Anti-Federalists
• C. Preamble to the Constitution
• D. Limited Government

Answer: (D)

Limited Government is the idea that the government’s powers are kept within legal bounds and its primary job is to protect individual rights. In the Constitution, powers are limited by what is actually granted to the government, and those powers are checked and balanced by other branches and by the people. This principle is also reflected in protections like the Bill of Rights, which narrow what the government can do to individuals and ensure due process and basic liberties. The other options don’t capture this binding constraint: debates between Federalists and Anti-Federalists were about how strong the national government should be, not about a formal limit on power and protection of rights, and the Preamble is a statement of aims rather than a binding rule about limiting government.