The election is over. Regardless of who wins elections, governance should remain relatively constant provided all parties adhere to the Constitution. The problem America has faced for many years is those elected have exceeded the proper role of government and the powers and limits enumerated by the Constitution.

Determining the proper role of government requires a historical perspective. The Bill of Rights Institution on their homepage explains “individual liberty and personal happiness cannot co-exist with unlimited government. At the same time, there would be little security for our rights without a government sufficiently powerful to effectively promote the public good.”

The challenge for centuries has been striking the balance. In 1215 the Magna Carta was established to limit the king’s power. The document was written by barons to protect their rights and property from a tyrannical king. It established that individuals had specific rights. The Magna Carta placed the king subject to English law.

The Petition of Right was enacted in 1628 to lay the foundations of rights and liberties for English citizens protecting them from the monarchy. The Petition of Right established that the government could not take money or property from citizens without their consent. It also stated that no one could be imprisoned without cause.

During the late 1600s, the source of government itself and the proper role of government began to be re-examined. John Locke in his Second Treatise of Civil Government (1689) introduced the concept that government legitimacy was based on the consent of the governed and on a responsibility to protect natural rights. Locke’s arguments were a paradigm shift: People voluntarily agree to be governed and also possess rights that flow from nature itself. When the government no longer had the consent of the people or no longer protected fundamental liberties, then the people have a right to change it or overthrow it.

Thomas Jefferson used these words and reasoning in the Declaration of Independence in 1776, as he declared in part “the history of the present king of Great Britian is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations.”

After winning their independence from an all-powerful government, the founders desired to form a new nation with limited government. The founders first developed the Articles of Confederation in 1781; however, by 1787 they knew the Articles were not working as intended. A convention was held in Philadelphia to address its deficiencies.

The Bill of Rights website summarizing the results of the convention wrote, “What emerged from the Constitutional Convention elevated limited government from a mere theory to a practical government philosophy. Through a series of complex structures, innovations, and mechanisms, the U.S. Constitution both empowers and limits government, while providing the framework for each successive generation to regulate that balance.”

The founders divided the government powers into three branches, each with enumerated powers: legislative; executive; and judicial. The founders specifically detailed the duties of each branch of government. From a simple, concise plan for government with built-in checks and balances to protect individual liberties, how did the government become such a vast, over-reaching administrative state?

A quick search of the internet shows the federal bureaucracy consists of 15 Cabinet departments plus more than 2,000 agencies that all together employ approximately 3 million people. This makes the federal government the largest employer in the U.S. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in government increased by 709,000 in 2023 exceeding the employment growth in 2021 and 2022 combined.

The legislative branch, Congress, and the executive branch, the president, have abdicated their constitutional responsibilities and delegated them to unelected bureaucrats who are unaccountable to the people. The Pacific Legal website says, “The sheer number of volume of regulations issued by regulatory agencies now dwarfs the laws enacted by Congress.”

The only reason for men to unite to form a government according to John Locke in his Second Treatise of Civil Government is “the preservation of their lives, liberties, and property.” Our founders agreed as the U.S. Constitution is established on that premise.

Elections are the only opportunity for citizens to fire the leaders in the government who are governing against the will of the people. The election is over. Voters need to hold those elected to office accountable for performing their Constitutional duties and adhering to the proper role of government.