Skip to Main Content

U.S. Constitution Article 1, Section 10 and the Tenth Amendment

Primary Sources in Federalism and the Founding: Article 1 Section 10 of the Constitution, and the Tenth Amendment

 

  • I can explain how both federal and national power are exercised under the Constitution.
  • I can explain how the principles of federalism and republicanism are foundational aspects of the Constitution.

 

The U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 10, 1787

 

Building Context: The proposed Constitution was careful to balance both national government and federal power. Under the Articles of Confederation, the states were sovereign and held more power than the national government. The Framers were trying not to repeat those mistakes. At the same time, they ensured that the proposed government would be republican in principle, meaning its power was based on the people. The following passages from the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights address this balance.

 

Caption: The Constitution

 

The U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 10, 1787

https://billofrightsinstitute.org/primary-sources/constitution

 

Document Text Notes
No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal (a license to pirate or attack ships) coin money; emit bills of credit; make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder (declaring someone guilty without trial), ex post facto law (laws that punish something not a crime before it was passed) , or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility. (an inherited title such as duke or earl).

 

  
No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties (taxes) on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it’s inspection laws: and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress.  
No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage (charges imposed on a ship based on its weight for it to enter a port), keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent (immediate) danger as will not admit of delay.

 

  

 

 

Comprehension and Analysis Questions:

  1. List at least three actions that the states may not take under the Constitution.
  2. What problems might arise if the states took these actions?
  3. List at least three actions that the states may take with the consent of Congress.
  4. How do these limits support the principle of federalism?

 

  

 

Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, 1791

 

Building Context: The Constitution was written in the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by delegates from 12 states, to replace the Articles of Confederation with a new form of government. It created a federal system with a national government and state governments, each level with different and shared powers. Many state conventions ratified the proposed Constitution but called for amendments specifically protecting individual rights from being violated by the federal government. During the ratification debate in Virginia, Madison promised that a bill of rights would be added after ratification. The Constitution was ratified by the threshold of nine states in June 1788. A year later, in June of 1789, during the first Congress, Representative Madison proposed a series of amendments to be debated. Ten of the proposed amendments were added to the Constitution in 1791. These amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. The Tenth Amendment appears below.

 

The Tenth Amendment, 1791

https://billofrightsinstitute.org/primary-sources/bill-of-rights

Document Text

 

 Notes
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.

 

  

 

Comprehension and Analysis Questions:

 

  1. Rewrite the Tenth Amendment in your own words.
  2. Is the Tenth Amendment an expression of federal or national power? Why?
  3. How does the Tenth Amendment support the principles of federalism and popular sovereignty?
  4. Compare this document with Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitution. What do these documents suggest about the balance of power between the states and the national government?