Tenth Amendment Interpretation

The precise meaning and purpose of the Second Amendment has been a subject of frequent debate. Gun control advocates argue that when the newly founded country adopted the Second Amendment in 1791, each state maintained a militia composed of ordinary citizens who served as part-time soldiers’’ (‘’Gun Control’’). Even though states aren 't supposed to limit laws of the bill of rights in the past states had their own military groups so states should still have control over their own laws with guns like states did back then when the second amendment was

Regarding the constitution James Madison and his fellow delegates had a challenge to write a strong constitution to hold the people and the states together The Constitution guards against tyranny by creating Separation of Powers and Small and large States. Furthermore the separation of powers is guarded by the constitution . The three

According to the Tenth Amendment of the constitution, “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”. There have been moments in history where Congress has implemented laws that states felt were unconstitutional. The Constitution gave states the ability to counter the federal government’s power through the Judiciary branch of government, when they feel a law is unconstitutional. The Founders of our nation gave Congress enumerated powers to pass legislation that needs to be abided by all states and citizens. At times Congress will overstep its powers by enacting laws that are unconstitutional and the states have the right to challenge those powers.

The United States Constitution when first introduced was focused only on what powers the Federal Government would have. For many states who had just gained, their freedom from England there needed to be a guarantee that the newly formed government would not impose on people’s rights. The Bill of Rights was written for that purpose it was to apply to the federal government only. When different states started to pass laws that contradicted what the states had requested from the federal government when they added the Bill of Rights, which unfortunately prevented the federal Supreme Court from intervening in the states business.

“The accumulation of all powers..in the same hands, whether of one or many (is) the very definition of tyranny.” (James Madison, Federalist Paper #47, 1788) ( Background Essay) This quote explains the reasoning for one of the framers, (B) Separation of Powers. The framers of the constitution were created to prevent tyranny and create a stronger government that would hold the nation together. Tyranny ultimately means harsh, absolute power in the hands of one individual-- like a king or dictator. The constitution guarded against tyranny in 4 ways: (A)Federalism, (B)Separation of Powers, (C)Checks & Balances, and (D)Small State-Large State.

This was the first error the delegates at the Constitutional Convention hoped to fix with the Constitution. In JAmes MAdison’s Federalist Paper #51, he explains that the power the people of the nation grants its government be divided into two separate government's, meaning state and federal, to ensure a “double security” on the people’s rights. This idea was referred to as federalism (Doc A). This division of power was set up in a way that both governments had specific powers that the other had no control over, which prevented either one form gaining all power. Tyranny was further prevented by both state and central governments sharing some powers, keeping each other in

In defending the phrasing of the Constitution, Madison offers: “It has been urged and echoed, that the power “to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States,” amounts to an unlimited commission to exercise every power which may be alleged to be necessary for the common defense or general welfare… But what would have been thought of that assembly, if, attaching themselves to these general expressions, and disregarding the specifications which ascertain and limit their import, they had exercised an unlimited power of providing for the common defense and general welfare?” (“Federalist 41” 1)

The Fourteenth amendment is a significant addition to the constitution and although the amendment has five sections, section 1 has had the moral lasting significance through its creation of three important provisions concerning citizenship, due process and equal protection. The Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof. The fourteenth Amendment also forbid the states to deny their citizens due process of law or equal protection of the law, that is, it made certain provision of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states. Lastly, the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the government at any level from unfairly or arbitrarily denying a citizen their fundamental

Since the signing of the United States Constitution, the dividing of powers in the United States has been based on the sharing of powers between the national government and the local governments (state governments in the case of the United States), which became known as Federalism. Amendment II states “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The Second Amendment has most recently been interpreted to grant the right of gun ownership to individuals for purposes that include self-defense. At first it was thought to apply only to the Federal government, but through the mechanism of the Fourteenth Amendment, it has been applied to the states as

This amendment means that citizens have the right to own a weapon or firearm to protect themselves against the government and other threats that may occur in their home. This amendment, for a period of time, prevented the need for the United States to have a professional standing government. This amendment provides citizens the right to protect themselves without restrictions from the government. This amendment also gives citizens the right to protect themselves from foreign and domestic affairs if the government

The fourteenth amendment protects the little people. The people who are slipping through the cracks, the ones that have fallen by the wayside of the majority. Recently, this has meant rulings in favor of same-sex marriage. Historically, it has granted women the right to an abortion and given African Americans the right to go to the same schools as their fellow Americans. In each case, an oppressed or otherwise infringed group from the overreaches of the state, the society at large.

“The accumulation of all powers… in the same hands, whether one, a few, or many… may be justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny. ”-James Madison. Fifty-five delegates, from the thirteen states, met in Philadelphia in May of 1787 to discuss and revise the Articles of Confederation. The chief executive and the representatives worked to create a frame for what is now our Constitution. The Constitution guarded against tyranny in four ways; Federalism that creates a State and Federal government, Separation of Powers that gives equal power to the three branches, Checks and Balances that create balance in the three branches by checking each other and being checked and the Small States vs the Big States ensures an equal voice for all states no matter what their size.

James Madison wrote Federalist 51 over 200 years ago, yet its words still impact today’s government in 2016. When writing Federalist 51, Madison had two main objectives in mind; he wanted a government with a separation of powers, and he also wanted minorities to be protected. Both of his objectives have been accomplished and continue to be present in today’s American government with the latter objective being more present in today’s government even more so than in the past. To begin with, power is separated in today’s government, preventing a single person or group from having absolute power since, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” according to John Dalberg-Acton. The American government is composed of three branches which power is separated amongst.

The reserved powers of the States is noted in the 10th amendment. The purpose of reserved powers is to make sure the federal government doesn’t become too strong or authoritative. Examples of reserved powers include: setting speed limits in areas, building highways, marriage laws, divorce laws, conducting elections, and setting up local governments. In sum, there are numerous differences between enumerated, implied, and reserved powers.

Tyranny is when too much power is in the hands of one, a few, or the majority. Some prime examples of tyranny is when King George III was in power of great britain, the Khmer Rouge and the cambodian genocide, or slavery in the 1800s. Tyranny is even happening today with Kim jong un in north korea. The US Constitution guards against tyranny to protect our country and its people.