The United States Constitution was written in a manner specifically designed to limit the size and scope of the federal government. All government power, prior to the writing of the Constitution, was held by the States. The new country needed a central government to protect the union of sovereign states, yet the new federal government needed to be limited so that it would not become a tyranny that sought to destroy the autonomy of the individual states. From the very beginning there were those that disagreed with the concept of a limited central government, and worked to usurp the Constitution so that the federal government may have full authority over everything.
