The 10th amendment gives each state the power where the federal government does not have it. This is important for maintaining a unified nation because if the majority votes on an act or bill then the majority will be happy. However, this amendment has a history of being taken advantage of to justify immoral issues such as segregation in the Southern states during the times of slavery.
Following the ratification of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights was created to clarify the limitations the federal government had over the 50 states. It was less of a set of laws and more of a reassurance to the citizens that they have have a say in their government, unlike in the British colonies. Before the colonies became the United States, the British had a colonial government. This meant that “ charters of royal colonies provided for direct rule by the king. A colonial legislature was elected by property holding males. But governors were appointed by the king and had almost complete authority.” This government lacked representation
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This is necessary because it allows room for compromise and is the closest thing to pleasing everyone. However, the people (under the states) should not be forced to obey a law that is morally unjust or that violates our basic human rights, even if the majority voted for it. If a law is unfair or deprives a group of people of their basic human rights, it would be ideal that the majority could agree to do what’s best for people without putting in their own beliefs ahead, but it’s impossible for everyone to agree on something. The 14th Amendment was ratified with the intention of keeping the states authority the same but only as long as the people's basic rights stay intact. Nonetheless, many have argued that certain states take advantage of this amendment to keep laws that oppress
The 14th amendment, amongst other things, describes exactly who and what a “citizen” is and what “citizenship” is in the U.S., something that the constitution lacks in description. For most practical purposes the
the states to give them power over the Government. It gave the states individual power to pass
The 14th amendment was passed three years after the most gruesome war in American history took place. This war is known as the “Civil War” but in aged southern textbooks it is known as the “War Between the States”. The Civil War was a prime example of why the 14th amendment should be passed. Looking at what influenced the war and what the 14th amendment stood for, showed a common influence. A huge influence on the 14th amendment was freed slaves because of the rights they were entitled to. On July 28th, 1868 the secretary of state issued a proclamation ratifying the 14th amendment. This granted citizenship to all born or naturalized in the United States. The 14th amendment forbids states from denying any person life, liberty or property, without
The 14th Amendment of the United States constitution guarantees that, “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” (U.S Constitution, Sec. 1). This amendment gives the citizens of the United States their basic human rights and the process that must be taken accounted for in any given court cases. No individual born in the United States should be stripped from their rights no matter the circumstances, for example the skin color, race, religious beliefs or sexuality preferences should interfere. The Constitution is a document that was signed on September 17, 1787 for the nation in order to solve any pre-occurring disagreements that were bound to happen soon (“Constitution Faqs”). The document establishes the rights that are given to all U.S citizens laying out their rights, the freedoms that they are granted, and the series of events that were to occur in the court of law. When the Constitution was signed into effect many people at that time period had a hard time adjusting to the new laws and regulations. Despite the new laws, many would still abide their own personal traditions and not follow the new established laws. This Mentality that many had would continue to happen for the next couple of decades to come. For example,
The constitution is the foundation of America. It has the country’s beliefs and rights within it. In 1791, the Bill of Rights was added to the constitution because the Anti Federalists refused to ratify the constitution till the Bill was added. The Bill of Rights not only guarantees citizens rights but also it ensures a limited government. The 14th amendment was later created in 1868 which guaranteed due process of law and equal protection under the law. The Bill of Rights and 14th amendment was made in hope that the government would learn their limitations and wouldn’t interfere with a person’s rights. It was basically the rules set for the government to follow. However as time goes by, the effectiveness of the Bill of Rights has lessened.
Essentially, the 14th Amendment, in a way, introduced a version of the “civil death” policy into American law.
They believed that it “cannot, clearly, be a full representation of this people” because “it would be impossible to collect a representation of the parts of the country five, six, and seven hundred miles from the seat of government” (“The Federal Farmer”). It seemed impossible for them to do this because of how vast the country was. They didn’t think it was logical for people to travel so far to appear before a judge, and people in New York couldn’t possibly understand the situation in South Carolina. The Federalists solved this dilemma by creating three powers. These three powers were reserved (belongs to state), delegated (controlled by the national government), and concurrent (belonged to state and national government).
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution were also sources of power for the national government when it came to its jurisdiction over the states. By passing laws against slavery and allowing "equal protection under the law," the national government gave itself the power to enforce those laws and therefore enhanced authority over the states. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and in section 2 stated that "Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." By adding section 2 to the amendment, Congress was simply ensuring their supremacy over the state governments. Among other things, the 14th Amendment guarantees "equal protection under the law" to all citizens. Since all citizens are guaranteed protection, it is left up to the national government to make sure all citizens are receiving these rights. Even though many thought that the 14th Amendment meant that the Bill of Rights was
The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is perhaps the most sweeping and has likely impacted the general jurisprudence of the Supreme Court the most of any other amendment. This is because, where all other right-protecting amendments protect something specific, the fourteenth amendment was designed to ensure that states guaranteed due process rights, applied the law equally, and protected the “privileges [and] immunities of citizens of the United States.”
The Tenth Amendment states that “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 the people (List of Amendments to the United States Constitution). The Bill of Rights is a clear establishment of the restrictions on Federal authority. James Madison, along with numerous other framers, feared the monarchical powers. The framers fought against the tyrannical rule of the King, setting forth the foundation upon which the colonies designed their government and consequently led to the authoring and ratification of the Constitution. The US Constitution’s purpose can be said to have been to fill in the gaps of all the unenumerated powers of the states. This is where we begin to understand the confusion of two centers of power with sovereign authority. Which one leads the nation by authority? Or as I like to say, “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” The Supremacy Clause was set forth to dispel the issues that confuse us all between the federal law and state law. Article VI of the Constitution establishes the laws and treaties of the United States made in accordance with it as the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every
Thus, the Constitution was born. However, it was due to this fear that the Founders added the 10th Amendment to the Bill of Rights. The Founders recognized that though some components of the Bill of Rights appeared to limit federal powers— for example, the First Amendment’s decree that Congress could not make laws imposing upon freedom of speech— it could be argued that it was not explicitly stated and therefore not valid (Heritage). The creation of the 10th Amendment sought to prevent the exploitation experienced under British rule in order to bring fairness and balance under a new
First, the Constitution guards us from tyranny by dividing powers between the central and state governments otherwise known as federalism. The Constitution expressly granted broad powers to the federal government, but not to the states. For instance, the Constitution includes the Necessary and Proper Clause, which allows Congress to make any law they deem appropriate to fulfill its duties. Instead of showing how much power that states have, the Constitution stressed what the states couldn 't do. The addition of the Bill of Rights, including the Tenth Amendment, helped to correct some of this imbalance. The Tenth Amendment reserved to the states or the people all powers either not specifically delegated to the national government or specifically denied to the states. This meant that the central and state
“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.” Our Tenth Amendment, as it was originally written does not specify or restrict the spectrum of powers which are entitled to the federal government, the state government, and or the people. Since this amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not provide an accurate measure of the powers granted to each group, it is a very open concept and its extent can be given an infinite number of interpretations. The lack of specific distinction between the powers can cause altercations regarding the rights and authority that the state and the national government have over certain issues. To
“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.” The purpose of the tenth Amendment is to define the division of power between the federal government and state governments.
The colonists desired to have their own nation, but the British government continued to place laws and rules over them so they would not lose rule over them.