10th Amendment

Original 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.

Translation 

Any power not given to the federal government by the Constitution is given to the States.

Passage and Ratification

The tenth amendment was the last amendment ratified in the Bill of Rights. It was written into the US Constitution on September 5, 1789. James Madison introduced the amendment to the delegates, reasoning that the powers of the states needed to be declared in the new Constitution. This would deny the federal government any implied powers that are not under the “Necessary and Proper Clause”. A balance of power between the federal and states governments was an important issue to the founding fathers, who distrusted the federal government and wanted to prevent an usurpation.

During the revolutionary war, the colonies declared independence from Great Britain and they became thirteen separate colonies. A committee then came together to united the thirteen colonies under the Articles of Confederation. It took a long time for each colonies to join the Union and become one country because of the distrust of a centralized government. They were afraid to give up their local rights to a national government. The biggest argument during the Constitutional Convention was states rights v. national rights.

A group of delegates called the Anti-Federalists argued that the Constitution would lead to a centralized power that would destroy the liberty of everyone else.The Anti-Federalists were the ones who directly influenced the passage of the tenth amendment. By giving the federal government specified powers, the Constitution leaves all other powers for state sovereignties. The founding fathers wanted as much power as possible to be retained by state legislatures. The tenth amendment was necessary for the liberty of the states.

The Effect on the United States

The tenth amendment gave the states many rights. It gave them the right to be exempted from federal mandates, or orders given by the government. States can ignore orders given by the court. It worked in the case of New York v. United States, where the government attempted to get radioactive waste from each states, but New York exempted themselves under the tenth amendment. 

However, the government still tries to create economic sanctions for each states. Instead, states collect federal funds, such as gas tax and income tax, for the federal government and pay the government each month for the funds to be used for purposes which are allowed in the Constitution. If the government were to actually impose economic sanctions on states, the states would just stop funding the government. Because of this amendment, the federal government tries not to impose on states rights, since it could lead to its own destruction.

The Effect on Us

Last month, my class did a project that followed the actions of our state representative. Through this project, I discovered how much power my state representative and all other representatives actually had. They are the ones who get to decide on the laws of our nation. Congress represents the states, and the states represent us. Without the tenth amendment, state legislatures would not have any power. The President has to work with the States to be able to get anything accomplished.

I, and everyone else, can have a direct effect on this nation through state legislators. I can contact my representative, John Sabatina, and discuss my thoughts on decisions he should make on my behalf. The state legislatures were created to give the people power, instead of the national government having all the power. I think the tenth amendment worked well to balance the power.