Describe the structure of government that the Tenth Amendment allows.
The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution 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 establishes the principle of federalism, which is the sharing of powers between the federal government and the individual state governments.
The structure of government that the Tenth Amendment allows is a system where certain powers are delegated to the federal government, while others are reserved to the states or to the people. The federal government has limited and enumerated powers, meaning that it can only exercise authority in areas specifically granted to it by the Constitution. These powers include defense, foreign relations, interstate commerce, and the establishment of a currency, among others.
On the other hand, the states retain the residual powers that are not granted to the federal government. These powers can be exercised to govern their respective territories and protect the rights and welfare of their citizens. This includes areas such as education, public health, criminal justice, transportation, and many other functions that affect the daily lives of individuals within a state.
In addition to the state governments, the Tenth Amendment also recognizes that powers can be reserved to the people. This means that individuals maintain certain rights and liberties that are not subject to government control, such as freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and the right to bear arms.
Overall, the structure of government allowed by the Tenth Amendment is one that balances power between the federal government and the individual states, ensuring that neither entity becomes too dominant or infringes upon the rights of the other.