What is the difference between the 10th Amendment and the 14th Amendment?

Asked by: Mossie Prohaska  |  Last update: August 25, 2023
Score: 4.5/5 (2 votes)

The Tenth Amendment gives states all powers not specifically given to the federal government, including the power to make laws relating to public health. But, the Fourteenth Amendment places a limit on that power to protect people's civil liberties.

What makes the 10th Amendment different?

“The Tenth Amendment was intended to confirm the understanding of the people at the time the Constitution was adopted, that powers not granted to the United States were reserved to the States or to the people. It added nothing to the instrument as originally ratified.

What does the Tenth Amendment say in simple terms?

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.

What does the 14th Amendment say?

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

What is the 14th Amendment for dummies?

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to anyone born in the United States or who became a citizen of the country. This included African Americans and slaves who had been freed after the American Civil War.

The 14th Amendment: Understanding its crucial legal impact

34 related questions found

What are the 5 main points of the 14th Amendment?

The Fourteenth Amendment contains a number of important concepts, most famously state action, privileges & immunities, citizenship, due process, and equal protection—all of which are contained in Section One.

Why is 14th Amendment important today?

It established birthright citizenship, required 'due process' and 'equal protection' of the law for everyone, and put the federal government in the business of policing liberty. It removed race and ethnicity from the legal definition of American identity…

What are the 3 main clauses of the 14th Amendment?

The amendment's first section includes several clauses: the Citizenship Clause, Privileges or Immunities Clause, Due Process Clause, and Equal Protection Clause.

Does the 14th Amendment give the right to travel?

The right to travel is a far-reaching and essential privilege and immunity of citizenship in a broad federal union. It is guaranteed explicitly in Article IV of the Articles of Confederation and thus implicitly in Article IV of the United States Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment.

What does the 14th Amendment have to do with the debt?

Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection and Other Rights

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.

Why is Amendment 10 important?

The 10th Amendment allows the powers not specifically given to the federal government to be given to the states and people of the states. It allows for states to create specific guidelines and regulations separate from the federal government.

What is an example of the 10th Amendment being violated?

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 the Tenth Amendment based on?

The Tenth Amendment is similar to Article II of the Articles of Confederation: Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.

What is an example of the 10th Amendment being used?

In recent decades, the main place we've seen the 10th Amendment invoked is the anti-commandeering doctrine. This doctrine says the federal government cannot issue commands to the states, for example by requiring them to administer federal laws.

Is there a right to travel without a driver's license in the United States?

If you are driving, then you always need to carry a driver's license while operating a vehicle. Therefore, if you are moving between states by driving, you will need to have your license. However, the driver's license is not necessary to the right to travel.

What rights depend on the 14th Amendment?

Among them was the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits the states from depriving “any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” When it was adopted, the Clause was understood to mean that the government could deprive a person of rights only according to law applied by a court.

Does the 14th Amendment protect the right to vote?

The 14th Amendment, which conferred citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, was ratified in 1868. In 1870 the 15th Amendment was ratified, which provided specifically that the right to vote shall not be denied or abridged on the basis of race, color or previous condition of servitude.

What are the two main parts of the 14th Amendment?

14th Amendment
  • The Citizenship Clause granted citizenship to All persons born or naturalized in the United States.
  • The Due Process Clause declared that states may not deny any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law."

What are three effects of the 14th Amendment?

The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified on July 9, 1868. The amendment granted citizenship to those born or naturalized in the United States and guaranteed freedom, due process, and equal protection under the law to all Americans.

What is Section 2 of the 14th Amendment?

Section 2 Apportionment of Representation

Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed.

Why was the 14th Amendment so controversial?

This is because, for the first time, the proposed Amendment added the word "male" into the US Constitution. Section 2, which dealt explicitly with voting rights, used the term "male." And women's rights advocates, especially those who were promoting woman suffrage or the granting of the vote to women, were outraged.

Why did the 14th Amendment fail?

Due to judicial and executive inaction, the amendment was not interpreted as anything more than a reiteration of the Thirteenth Amendment's declaration of emancipation for slaves, and it did not guarantee African Americans any civil rights as citizens of the United States.

Why is the 14th Amendment the best?

Following President Lincoln's assassination, President Andrew Johnson's policies and laws, such as the "Black Codes," restored white supremacy. The 14th Amendment established citizenship rights for the first time and equal protection to former slaves, laying the foundation for how we understand these ideals today.

What is the most important part of the 14th Amendment?

Finally, the “equal protection clause” (“nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”) was clearly intended to stop state governments from discriminating against Black Americans, and over the years would play a key role in many landmark civil rights cases.

What is the most important 14th Amendment?

The Fourteenth Amendment promises that all persons in the United States shall enjoy the “equal protection of the laws.” This means that they cannot be discriminated against without good reason. All laws discriminate, because governments must make choices about what is lawful.