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ThePowers of the Federal Government, the States and the People |
10th Amendment Simplified Summary Powers kept by the states or the people Cause and Reason for the 10th Amendment 10th Amendment Text - The Tenth Amendment 10th Amendment Text The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. 10th Amendment Meaning, Explanation and Summary 10th Amendment: Meaning of the Words of the Amendment 10th Amendment "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."Meaning: The Tenth Amendment reflects the overall concept of the earlier Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation were the first governing document and the original constitution of America that was adopted on on March 1, 1781 when the last of the original 13 states had agreed and signed the document. The Articles of Confederation contained the terms by which the 13 new states agreed to participate in a centralized form of government, in addition to their self-rule. Each of the states had written their own state constitutions. Under the Articles of Confederation each of the states retained their: "sovereignty, freedom and independence." The Articles of Confederation declared that every state would keep their freedom, independence, jurisdiction, rights, and sovereignty. In the government of America the supreme power is retained by the whole body of the people (not a monarch) and is exercised by representatives elected by them - a constitutional representative government. The government of the US is referred to as a Federal Government (a national government) in which power is divided between one central and several regional authorities (the individual states). The tenth amendment made it clear that the federal government had the powers specifically granted by the US Constitution and that the states and the people also had rights and laws that would be enforced at state level. The 10th Amendment set the guidelines for federalism (one of the 7 principles of the Constitution) in the United States. 10th Amendment "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."Meaning: Any power not listed is left to the states or the people. These "powers" were not individually specified. In practice, the "powers", meaning laws, delegated to the states and the people, relate to laws relating to family relations (such as marriage, divorce, and adoption), Trade (buying and selling) and business that occurs within the borders of individual states and local law enforcement activities. 10th Amendment: Meaning of the Words of the Tenth Amendment |
Who wrote the 10th Amendment of the Constitution? President George Washington Video |