The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to:

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Accepted Answer

The states or the people. The Tenth Amendment states: "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." This amendment serves as the constitutional foundation for state sovereignty and is frequently cited in debates about the proper scope of federal versus state authority. It reflects the Framers' intent to create a limited national government.

The Tenth Amendment does not reserve powers to the President, executive agencies, or the Supreme Court  -  these are all components of the federal government, and the amendment specifically addresses powers not delegated to the federal government. Interstate compacts are agreements between states that require congressional approval, but they are not the recipients of reserved powers under the Tenth Amendment.

Reserved powers exercised by states include regulating intrastate commerce, establishing local governments, conducting elections, ratifying constitutional amendments, and exercising police power to protect public health, safety, and welfare. Education policy, marriage laws, and criminal law are traditionally areas of state authority under reserved powers. However, the scope of the Tenth Amendment has been contested throughout American history, with the Supreme Court sometimes interpreting it broadly to protect state prerogatives and sometimes narrowly to allow federal expansion, particularly under the Commerce Clause. This tension between federal and state power is a recurring theme on the CLEP American Government exam.

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