Yes and no.
Taxes are higher, there are more rules to follow, and government is larger, I grant you.
But gold is legal to buy and own again now. Segregation and slavery are dead. Women can't be discriminated against (re: pay, employment). Women have the vote. Alcohol is legal to buy and consume again. Roads are better. Medicine is better. Technology is better. Credit access is better. There was a time in America where you "sold" yourself as an indentured servant for decades in order to learn a trade and possibly own your own business, but now you can get an SBA loan for starting your business and get a scholarship for your education/trade.
Our military is much more capable of dealing with foreign threats, too.
We can roll back regulations, repeal bad laws, and shrink the size of our government if we really want to. I wouldn't trade all of the above improvements just for a smaller government or lower taxes (although I want both).
Consider carefully when you claim that America is worse off today than 226 years ago. Blacks aren't in chains and women aren't forbidden from voting. Do you really want to go back to that?!