> The president they created was one who administered over a much more limited government, one that primarily collected taxes and waged wars.

Even if that was relevant, it's not true. By the time of Thomas Jefferson's death in 1826, the federal government had over 10,000 employees. It didn't just collect taxes and wage wars--it issued patents, enforced laws, managed pensions (for soldiers), provided direct services to the public (mail), issued currency, and had a central bank. By 1900, still decades before the rise of the modern administrative state, the federal government had over 230,000 employees.