A Limited Government is a type of government in which its functions and powers are prescribed, limited, and restricted by law, usually in a written constitution. On the other had a Representative government is a form of government in which the citizens delegate authority to elected representatives.
A limited government is extremely common throughout the history of western cultures. Starting in the early seventeenth century, colonist came to the New World for a variety of reasons. The colonist were independent people, and it soon became clear that the crown could not govern the colonies any more. That was when the idea of limited government came about. However, the idea that government should have restrictions on its power to deal with citizens and other governments has its roots in the Hebraic Law of Moses, as well as the establishment of Tribunate of Plebes in the Roman Republic in 490 BC. In both systems, limits were placed on the governments power in different ways. However, in more recent times, the Magna Carta is an early example of the creation of a government with limited powers.
A representative government has historically denoted a system in which people elect their lawmakers, who are then held accountable to them for their activity within government. By the close of the seventeenth century, the colonies were to large to govern themselves directly. A representative government was the only form or democracy practicable for 3 to 4 million people spread across such a large geographical space. In America, the idea of a representative government has long-standing roots that can trace back to John Locke who called for consent to government rather than direct consent to the laws. American federal and state governments have been representative since the founding in 1789.
Two basic ideas of a limited government is that the recognition of certain rights which cannot be violated by the government (rule of law), and through the balance of powers or a system...