6 March, 2021 by Erich Dunkelberger
We fought a war with England to gain our independence. Afterward, when it came time to determine which form of government we would choose, our Founding Fathers ultimately decided upon a Constitutional Republic (despite what teachers may have told you in school) and went about writing a constitution creating a federal government limited in its regulatory capacities.
What came out of the Convention in 1787 was a Constitution forming a limited government. Or so the authors believed. One criticism was the lack of a bill of rights. The states each had a bill of rights. “We the People” was saying this Constitution also needed one. The Constitution of the United States of America was ratified with that expectation!
In 1791, the ten Amendments of the Bill of Rights was ratified and added to the Constitution. The first eight amendments guaranteed the protection of speech, religion, arms, searches and seizures, trial by jury and due process. The ninth acts as a safety net to ensure individuals their fundamental rights, even if they aren’t specifically mentioned.
The Tenth Amendment was written to basically put the Federal government in its place. It reads: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited to it by the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” This is the amendment that limits overreach, or a power-grab, from the Federal government. Their powers are limited! Any law passed giving powers to the Federal government not explicitly granted by the Constitution would be unconstitutional!
The importance of the Tenth Amendment should become evident soon, when and if H.R.1 passes the Senate and signed by the President. This bill would federalize elections, taking them out of the hands of the States. Many provisions of the bill would go against laws of individual States. If the States don’t see a problem with this, the individual, We the People, should, because this bill would practically invalidate our votes. It would become like the Banana Republics, where the powers-that-be get 99% of the vote always, or else!
Hopefully, should H.R.1 passes, it will immediately be tied up in the courts. I look forward to seeing who will be the first to start this process. I’m also hoping that the court system actually starts taking election laws seriously. So far, I’ve seen no evidence of that. The Tenth Amendment should remind the Congress that they can’t just take powers from the States solely because they want to!
marjarhead1 