What is the function of the 10th Amendment to the US Constitution, and how does it relate to the rest of the Constitution?

The Tenth Amendment is the last Amendment of the Bill of Rights ratified in 1791. It defines both the breadth of Federalism, and the limits thereto. It basically says that all powers not enumerated in the Constitution as belonging to the federal government are reserved to the several states or to the people. It makes no attempt to distinguish which go to the state governments and which to the people. I presume the Founders felt that matter could best be handled democratically at the state level.

Some so called “Constitutionalists” like to claim that anything not spelled out in minute detail in the Constitution as a power of the federal government is therefore unconstitutional if acted upon by the federal government. To people holding this view, the power to regulate interstate commerce, which is granted to the federal government, wouldn’t include regulating commerce carried by trucks or planes, because trucks and planes aren’t ever mentioned in the Constitution. This is a supercilious argument. The Constitution gives broad powers to act to the Congress, and the Executive, and charges the Judiciary with seeing these powers are not abused of overstepped. But it is important to note that there are limits on Federal power. Those things the federal government is not empowered to do must either be federalized by future Constitutional Amendments, or must remain with the states and the people.

Sorry to nitpick, but habeas corpus is actually protected by the Suspension Clause of the US Constitution (Article I, Section 9, clause 2):

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

@SavoirFaire It’s not nitpicking.

It’s not nitpicking, but neither is it relevant to the question.

@ETpro

It’s nice to know that some people still realize “there are limits on Federal power.” : )

Care to enumerate what some of those might be?

@CaptainHarley I think it’s relevant only because people sometimes reduce the justification for our freedoms by giving them the wrong basis. You included habeas corpus protections under the Tenth Amendment, when really they are much more explicitly laid out in—and thus more securely protected by—the main body of the US Constitution. I’d hate to see a judge make that mistake and think that habeas corpus is in any way vague.

The Framers purposefully decided to include the Tenth Amendment, despite criticisms that it was redundant, in order to underline the fact that the federal government is limited to only those powers necessary to fulfill its constitutionally mandated role. Yet they also purposefully decided not to include wording that would deny the existence of implied or derivative powers needed to keep the US Constitution from meeting the same fate as the Articles of Confederation.

Like everything else they did, it reflects a careful balance between governmental overreach and governmental impotence.

@CaptainHarley

Unfortunately, I logged off last night before I saw that you had asked this question. But…
@SavoirFaire hit the nail right on the head.

However, in light of our previous conversations on another thread, I would like to clarify one point: It is important to distinguish that the Elastic Clause and the 10th Amendment are separate entities, and that one does not make the other invalid. Rather, they are meant to work together as part of the singular constitution that they are a part of, to both give the federal government the power that it needs to be strong and supreme, and to limit that power only to what is essential to maintaining the well-being of the nation.

@SavoirFaire

Great answer! : ))

@Fly

I think I agree, at least in principle. Perhaps I should go back and look at our exchange on that other thread. Hmmm!

@CaptainHarley That would be a long list. One obvious power would be that of constituting a state government as a given state sees fit, so long as its establishment doesn’t violate the US Constitution. I am guessing you have certain pet powers you feel the Federal Government is usurping from the states and the people. If that’s so, then a more productive course would be for you to list them, and let’s discuss whether they are enumerated powers or not.