What term describes a governing system in which the powers of the government are restricted to protect individual rights?

• A. Limited Government
• B. Federalism
• C. Checks and Balances
• D. Popular Sovereignty

Answer: (A)

Limited government means the government's powers are restricted by a constitution or law in order to protect individual rights. This idea is everything here: the state or national authority can only do what the legal framework allows, and those laws are designed to safeguard freedoms such as free speech, religious liberty, and due process. That constraint on power helps prevent government overreach and tyranny, ensuring individuals retain fundamental protections even as laws are made and enforced.

The other concepts describe different ways power is organized or justified but don’t capture the idea of restricting governmental authority to safeguard rights. Federalism is about dividing power between national and state governments. Checks and balances describes how the branches monitor each other to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful. Popular sovereignty states that authority comes from the people, but it doesn’t itself define the mechanism that confines government power to protect rights.