Well, not really. This whole idea of limited government really only applies to the federal government. The state governments have always had plenary power, which in real life means they can do pretty much anything.
The federal constitution is the source of the federal government’s authority. The feds can only do what the constitution says they can. The state constitution is a check on state government’s power, and works the opposite way: the state government can do anything unless the state constitution says they can’t.
So we’ve never historically had this (much cited) society where people can do as they please unless the government has a good reason to prohibit something. That has developed over a long period of time basically from thin air.