What does the tenth amendment of the bill of rights mean?

Question

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

Answer 1

The federal government can only exercise powers that were delegated to it. Any power not delegated to the federal government can be exercised by state governments instead. Or if neither the federal government nor the state government are regulating a particular behavior then people have a right to do that which is not regulated.

Answer 2

It means that if the Constitution doesn't specifically authorize the federal gov't to do something, it's supposed to butt out and leave it up to the states or the people.

Sadly, we have veered wildly from that, by basically saying practically every action is or effects interstate commerce, and therefore can be regulated.

Want to grow some weed and give it to your neighbor? That's a federal offense under the interstate commerce clause, because you're effecting the overall illegal drug market. Yup, that's an actual Supreme Court ruling and pretty much why we need to get liberals off of the court and return it to strict constitutionalists.

Answer 3

It's the reserved powers clause and was used by the Confederacy as the legal justification for owning slaves- the Constitution didn't specifically prohibit it. It is also used as the basis for a lot of moot states rights arguments.

Answer 4

That we are a United States, not a country with states as districts. Anything the federal government cannot show where it is written they have authority over it - belongs to the states and the people in those states to make up their minds about.

Answer 5

And was modified by the 14th;

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Answer 6

easy: in terms understood by people it means that the laws that the constitution does not cover can be handed over to the state's power and to the power of the people.

Answer 7

Involves States Rights, levy state taxes, regulation of land/public lands,state parks, state waterways and reservoirs, state licenses/permits etc.

Answer 8

Federalism.

Answer 9

It's meaningless. The Government does not follow it at all.

Answer 10

It is what it is.