Why was limited government so important?

Answer 1

The traditional American philosophy teaches that government must be limited in power if Individual Liberty is to be safeguarded, if each Individual's God-given, unalienable rights are to be made and kept enduringly secured.

Answer 2

The primary purpose of a government is to provide for the welfare of the people it governs. Limiting government (by making it responsible to the people) insures that it follows this purpose at least reasonably closely, and doesn't go off and promote other purposes at the expense of the citizenry.

Answer 3

So the government wouldn't overpower the people and so the sections of the government would not overpower each other. The three branches of US government can cancel out each other's actions in a process called "checks and balances."