Which amendment gives states their power?

Which amendment gives states their power?

• A. Ninth
• B. Tenth
• C. First
• D. Fourteenth

Answer: (B)

In a federal system, the Constitution reserves to state governments the powers not specifically granted to the national government. The amendment that does this is the one that states: powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. This explicit wording clarifies that any authority not given to Congress or prohibited to the states belongs to the states or the people, maintaining a balance between national and state power. That emphasis on reserved powers is what makes this amendment the best choice for “giving states their power.” Other amendments focus on protecting individual rights or addressing due process and whether state actions comply with constitutional guarantees, rather than carving out state-determined authority.

In a federal system, the Constitution reserves to state governments the powers not specifically granted to the national government. The amendment that does this is the one that states: powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. This explicit wording clarifies that any authority not given to Congress or prohibited to the states belongs to the states or the people, maintaining a balance between national and state power.

That emphasis on reserved powers is what makes this amendment the best choice for “giving states their power.” Other amendments focus on protecting individual rights or addressing due process and whether state actions comply with constitutional guarantees, rather than carving out state-determined authority.