The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

The Meaning to the
Ninth and Tenth Amendments
to the US Constitution

The United States Constitution was created to preserve our Freedoms and Liberties as explained in my Chirp “Freedom from - Liberty to”. The first ten amendments, “The Bill of Rights”, were adopted to prohibit the government from encroaching on our “Human Rights”; Human Rights that exist in or produced by nature, nor subject to governmental nor societal violations. The violation of these Human Rights is the main reason that the colonies rebelled against Britain as I have explained in my article “The Meaning of the American Revolution” and elaborated in my article "Natural (Bill of) Rights".

However, all Constitutional amendments may be subject to interpretation. But this interpretation may not encroach on our Human Rights but must reside within our Human Rights. The 9^th and 10^th amendments to the United States Constitution were adopted to deal with the Human Rights not elaborated in the 1^st through 8^th Amendments. This was done to ensure that any other Human Rights, not mentioned in the Constitution, were to be reserved and preserved by the people of the United States or to the individual States.

The 9^th and 10^th amendments to the United States Constitution states:

 Amendment IX: 

"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

Amendment X: 

"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"

These amendments are one of the most underrated and underutilized amendments to the Constitution, but also one of the most important. The 9^th Amendment assures us that if a right is not enumerated in the Constitution that the right is retained by the people and not that that the right doesn’t exist. This reminds us that rights do not originate in the Constitution, but from the people. The people always retain their rights and delegate responsibility to the government to protect their rights. The government may not abrogate a person’s rights, only enforce and protect them. The 10^th Amendment reminds us that any government power not delegated to the Federal Government in the Constitution is a power delegated to the States or to the people. It also currently recognizes that a State can prohibit the exercise of federal power if the States or People prohibits it. This was enacted to restrict the activities of the federal government to only those items enumerated in the Constitution. Our founding fathers were very concerned that the federal government would attempt to overreach and insert itself into affairs that it had no authority to do so. They knew it was very important for the protection of liberty and freedom that the federal government should be limited to those activities stated in the Constitution. This is true whether it is the Congressional, the Executive, or the Judiciary branches are exercising power.

If any branch of the federal government exceeds the powers enumerated in the Constitution it is an assault on the liberties and freedoms of the States or the People. Let us look at the so-called "general welfare" clause: Article I, Sec. 8, clause 1, U.S. Constitution, says:

The Congress shall have 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…

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

As seen from the above list from the United States Constitution there are 18 specifically enumerated powers that are delegated to Congress. If you will spend some time and effort to carefully read through the entire Constitution, and highlighting the powers delegated to Congress, you will find several other delegated powers (depending on how you count) that are delegated to Congress for the Country at large. This is what is meant when it is said that ours is a Constitution of enumerated powers!

Many argue that there should be a very broad interpretation of the meaning of the general welfare clause. But to broad an interpretation of the general welfare clause leads to an observed result best expressed by Humpty Dumpty in "Through the Looking Glass", by Lewis Carroll:

'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.'
'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things.'
'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master — that's all.'

The question is then whether the federal government is to be the master or the states or the people are to be the master of the federal government. As James Madison (one of the primary drafters of the Constitution) wrote in a letter:

"If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare,
and are the sole and supreme judges of the general welfare,
they may take the care of religion into their own hands;
they may appoint teachers in every State, county and parish
and pay them out of their public treasury;
they may take into their own hands the education of children,
establishing in like manner schools throughout the Union;
they may assume the provision of the poor;
they may undertake the regulation of all roads other than post-roads;
in short, every thing, from the highest object of state legislation
down to the most minute object of police,
would be thrown under the power of Congress.... Were the power
of Congress to be established in the latitude contended for,
it would subvert the very foundations, and transmute the very nature
of the limited Government established by the people of America."

If the federal government wishes to do something outside of the enumerated powers in the Constitution, it must first obtain permission from the States or the people to do so. This permission is requested through a clause in the federal law, that with the agreement of the State or the People within the state through the normal legislative process of the State, the Federal government may act in the State. By doing this the States are agreeing to permit the federal government to take a specific action not enumerated by the Constitution within their State. Many would argue that this process would be inefficient and time-consuming. However, our Constitution was not established to make government efficient or speedy, but it was established to preserve and protect the liberties and freedoms of the people.

The checks and balances of the Constitution have often prevented the encroachment of federal power upon the rights of the states and the people throughout our history. However, if all three branches cooperate in the extension of federal power into the States or to the people's rights is very difficult to prohibit these actions. However, the States and the people must resist the encroachment of the federal government on their rights. To do otherwise is cede our liberties and freedoms to the federal government.