What constitutional principle is the 10th amendment part of and why?

Question

What constitutional principle is the 10th amendment part of and why?

Answer 1

The Tenth Amendment is similar to an earlier provision of the Articles of Confederation: "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled."[1] After the Constitution was ratified, some wanted to add a similar amendment limiting the federal government to powers "expressly" delegated, which would have denied implied powers.[2] However, the word "expressly" ultimately did not appear in the Tenth Amendment as ratified, and therefore the Tenth Amendment did not amend the Necessary and Proper Clause.

The Tenth Amendment, which makes explicit the idea that the federal government is limited only to the powers granted in the Constitution, is generally recognized to be a truism. In United States v. Sprague (1931) the Supreme Court noted that the amendment "added nothing to the [Constitution] as originally ratified

From time to time states and local governments have attempted to assert exemption from various federal regulations, especially in the areas of labor and environmental controls, using the Tenth Amendment as a basis for their claim. An often-repeated quote, from United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100, 124 (1941), reads as follows:

The amendment states but a truism that all is retained which has not been surrendered. There is nothing in the history of its adoption to suggest that it was more than declaratory of the relationship between the national and state governments as it had been established by the Constitution before the amendment or that its purpose was other than to allay fears that the new national government might seek to exercise powers not granted, and that the states might not be able to exercise fully their reserved powers.



The Bill of Rights in the National ArchivesThe Tenth Amendment makes explicit what had before only been implied. It is also worth keeping in mind that the reserved powers mentioned in the Tenth Amendment are not the only powers that state governments possess. They additionally have what are called concurrent powers, which are held by both the states and the federal government. However, Congress may be able in some instances to preempt those concurrent state powers.

Under the premise that the Constitution splits all federal powers into two groups, i.e., those of Constitutional level and those of lesser stature authorized by the Necessary and Proper Clause, there is also a minority opinion[citation needed] that argues that the Tenth Amendment, being of the higher Constitutional level, prohibits all Constitutional level powers not authorized. By definition, any and all powers mentioned in the Constitution are of the Constitutional level, and all powers that are not mentioned are of lesser stature. Since mentioned powers are mostly prohibitions on the states, this interpretation argues that the Tenth Amendment makes those prohibitions effective on the federal government as well, except in cases where specific authorization is granted. This interpretation is contrary to the widespread use of the Necessary and Proper Clause to authorize the use of Constitutional level powers that are mentioned but not authorized.

Forced participation or commandeering

As suggested above, the Supreme Court rarely declares laws unconstitutional for violating the Tenth Amendment. In the modern era, the Court has only done so where the federal government compels the states to enforce federal statutes.