The American Constitution was created to expand the powers of the federal governmet (replacing the prior Articles of Confederation that existed prior). Since the creation of the constitution, the federal government has seen an increase in scope; driven in large part by new deal policies and an (absurdly) broad definition of "interstate commerce".

Under both the articles of confederation and the current constitution (with and without amendments), the idea of limited federal government was not personal freedom, but state's freedom (eg. powers not given to the federal government are given to the states).

Arguably, the strenthening of the federal government led to more constitutionally protected individual rights, as it led to the bill of rights being interpreted as restricting states as well.