"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 tenth amendment to the Constitution is arguably the clearest statement in the bill of rights. There are powers and duties in the Constitution that spell out the scope of the federal government. The founders included the tenth amendment to help all of us understand where the power lies, powers that the Constitution did not impart on the government. It is clear and direct; it needs no interpretation, but it does need defending.
The Federal Government has studiously ignored it entirely. This was to be a failsafe, a binding chain wrapped tightly around the government so as to prevent them infringing on the people’s and the states' rights. However, it is continuously avoided by excuses, and poor interpretation of other parts of the constitution. As it is said, the devil is in the detail, and every illegitimate law Congress passes has one of these “excuses” built in. That excuse is commonly the mandate to provide for the general welfare or regulate commerce among the States. Congress cannot persist on this track! Our representatives take an oath to defend the Constitution, yet they try to subvert it at every turn. The damage can be fixed, but time is of the essence.
