MoveOn.org supporters marched in protest of the Bush administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. However, the Tenth Amendment specifies that all powers not specifically granted to the national government are reserved to the states, or the people. Thus, after initial accusations against the White House, growing complaints about Katrina relief were lodged against state and local officials, too. The division of power is a central tenet of federalism. CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES Visit the Photo Place

amendment X: States'rights

Federalism is a great idea--when it suits us

Date published: 12/15/2005

MY BROTHER, who has spent over three decades with the Air Force as either an officer or a civilian employee, bristles at most of the criticism of the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina. He is a political and social conservative who cannot understand why people expect the national government or the military to do the job of mayors and governors and local police.

Why, my brother asks, did the mayor of New Orleans blame the federal government when he did not use school buses to help evacuate his city's residents?

To a large degree, my brother's take on state responsibilities reflects the position of the 10th Amendment.

Over the nation's history, the amendment--designed in the early 1790s to prevent a strengthened national government from being too strong--has been invoked to limit Congress and the president.

But how much should their power be restricted, considering the needs of the country, the limited ability of states to handle certain problems, and the vagueness of various constitutional provisions defining the powers of the national government?

Since at least the 1930s, Democrats have seen a need for more national power while Republicans have, at least in theory, largely shared the fears of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, among others, that a national government could be a danger to individual liberties.

(Nevertheless, both political parties have used the national government in violation of a strict interpretation of the 10th Amendment, and both have played a role in the drift to what departing Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor fears: "Congress will nibble away at state sovereignty, bit by bit, until someday essentially nothing is left but a gutted shell.")

Thanks in large part to depression, world wars, and Cold War, the powers of the national government have grown over the last century even into areas clearly accepted as state provinces. To the frustration of 10th Amendment purists, the national government has moved into such areas as public housing, gun control, voter registration, education, and marriage.

The Bill of Rights puts you--the individual citizen--in the U.S.Constitution, and spells out liberties that no government official can revoke. Through Bill of Rights Day, today, we will offer commentaries on the first 10 amendments that make up the bill. A postlude on the amendment process will appear tomorrow. --The Editors Sunday, Dec. 4: Amendment I-- freedom of expression. Tuesday, Dec. 6: Amendment 2--bearing arms. Wednesday, Dec. 7: Amendment 3--quartering soldiers. Thursday, Dec. 8: Amendment 4--search and seizure. Friday, Dec. 9: Amendment 5--property rights and double jeopardy. Saturday, Dec. 10: Amendment 6--criminal rights. Sunday, Dec. 11: Amendment 7-- jury trial. Tuesday, Dec. 13: Amendment 8--excessive fines; cruel and unusual punishment. Wednesday, Dec. 14: Amendment 9--unenumerated rights. Today, Bill of Rights Day: Amendment 10--states' rights. Friday, Dec. 16: Amending the Constitution.

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Date published: 12/15/2005