What is a real life example of the 10th Amendment?

Asked by: Dr. Bennett Wiegand IV  |  Last update: March 4, 2025
Score: 4.9/5 (33 votes)

There are still important 10th Amendment cases happening in contemporary American society. One example is the drinking age in America. States have the power to determine what the legal drinking age should be, but every single state has chosen 21.

What is an example of the Tenth Amendment in real life?

The federal government violated the Tenth Amendment when Congress required state and local officials to perform background checks on people buying guns. This decision arose from an amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968, which was a federal law designed to limit the distribution and ownership of firearms.

What is an example of the 10th Amendment for kids?

The powers and rights protected by the 10th Amendment are called reserved powers, because they aren't specifically assigned to the federal government. For example, the Constitution doesn't give the federal government power over driver's licenses. This is a reserved power for each state.

How does the 10th Amendment apply to our lives?

Amendment Ten to the Constitution was ratified on December 15, 1791. It makes clear that any powers that are not specifically given to the federal government, nor withheld from the states, are reserved to those respective states, or to the people at large.

What are some examples of amendments in real life?

The Third Amendment prevents government from forcing homeowners to allow soldiers to use their homes. Before the Revolutionary War, laws gave British soldiers the right to take over private homes. The Fourth Amendment bars the government from unreasonable search and seizure of an individual or their private property.

The 10th Amendment in One Lesson

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How are the 10 amendments important today?

By codifying fundamental freedoms, it won over states skeptical of a federal government at the time of our founding and proved our Constitution to be a living document, capable of evolving to perfect our Union. The basic rights it guarantees—to religion, speech, press, privacy and more—have come to define our nation.

What is a real life example of the First Amendment?

Tinker, Christopher Eckhardt, and Mary Beth Tinker) who were expelled after they wore black armbands to school in symbolic protest of the Vietnam War, the Supreme Court held that students "do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate" and that the First Amendment protects public school students' ...

When has the 10th Amendment been used?

Since 1992, the Supreme Court has ruled the Tenth Amendment prohibits the federal government from forcing states to pass or not pass certain legislation, or to enforce federal law. In New York v. United States (1992), the Supreme Court invalidated part of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985.

What is an example of a violation of the 10th Amendment?

For example, in New York v. United States, the Court held that the Tenth Amendment prohibited Congress from enacting a comprehensive plan for the disposal of radioactive waste that required states to assume responsibility for the disposal of waste within their borders.

What would life be like without the 10th Amendment?

Without the Tenth Amendment an extreme issue could have arisen. The federal government could have continually gained more responsibility over time and subsequently diminished the power of the states. The Tenth Amendment cemented federalism and the division between these two parts of government permanently.

Which is an example of a Tenth Amendment topic?

Each state has the authority to set and enforce education standards, allocate funding, and make decisions regarding curriculum and school policies. This example highlights the Tenth Amendment in action, as it demonstrates the division of powers between the federal government and state governments.

What is the 10th Amendment in schools?

However, the 10th Amendment reserves the power to govern education to the states, allowing them to set their policies and regulations.

What is a sentence with the 10th Amendment?

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.

What are examples of case law under the 10th Amendment?

The quintessential modern cases that illustrate this idea are New York v. United States (1992) and Printz v. United States (1997). In New York, the Court reviewed a Congressional program that used several different approaches to realize the goal of New York State complying with federal standards for radioactive waste.

Which Amendment says you can't be tried for the same crime twice?

The Double Jeopardy Clause in the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits anyone from being prosecuted twice for substantially the same crime .

What is a real life example of the 20th Amendment?

Because of the 20th Amendment, President Franklin Roosevelt's first term starts on March 4, 1933, and ends on Jan. 20, 1937, cutting his term by about six weeks. The sitting Congress elected two years prior also sees shorter terms. Roosevelt's second inauguration is held on Jan.

What does the 10th Amendment mean in kid words?

The Tenth Amendment prevents the federal government from trying to expand its powers beyond the powers granted by the Constitution. If a power is not granted, it belongs to the states or the people.

Is the 10th Amendment controversial today?

The meaning of the Tenth Amendment remains controversial both within the Court and among politicians, some of whom see it as the most important of all the first ten amendments.

How did the Brady Act violate the 10th Amendment?

In this case, local law enforcement officials in Montana claimed that the Brady Bill's requirement to “undertake a reasonable effort” to procure background checks was a violation of the Tenth Amendment and infringed on state sovereignty.

What Rights are guaranteed in the 10th Amendment?

The Tenth Amendment says that the Federal Government only has those powers delegated in the Constitution. If it isn't listed, it belongs to the states or to the people.

When were the 10 amendments accepted?

Ten of the proposed 12 amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. The ratified Articles (Articles 3–12) constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, or the U.S. Bill of Rights.

What is a real life example of the 9th Amendment?

Two other examples of the 9th Amendment are the right to vote and the right to privacy. Americans have the right to vote in any election. Also, the right to privacy is for individuals or couples to have the right to privacy within their personal lives without government interference.

Which Amendment is gun rights?

Second Amendment. A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Why is hate speech protected?

In a 2011 ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts described our national commitment to protecting hate speech in order to preserve a robust democratic dialogue: Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and—as it did here—inflict great pain.

What Supreme Court case banned prayer in public schools?

Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools, due to violation of the First Amendment.