THE FORGOTTEN FOUR WORDS IN THE 10TH AMENDMENT: "or to the people"

THE FORGOTTEN FOUR WORDS IN THE 10TH AMENDMENT: "or to the people"

From My History Can Beat Up Your Politics by Bruce Carlson

April 22, 2026 · 33 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the often-overlooked phrase in the Tenth Amendment that reserves powers to the people, exploring its implications for state and federal authority.

That's the State's Rights amendment, right? Ask just about anyone about the Tenth Amendment and they will say "States." States rights, powers, protections, limits to the Federal government. And they are right. Partially. But the Tenth contains words at the very end reserving powers: to the states or to the people. The last part is hardly ever discussed and has not been significantly litigated. But it seems illogical to ignore it, and understanding it could be the key to applying the amendment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Bruce Carlson

Topics covered

  • Tenth Amendment
  • States' rights
  • Federal government
  • Constitutional law
  • Political theory

Keywords

  • Tenth Amendment
  • States' rights
  • Federal government
  • Constitution
  • Political power
  • Legal interpretation

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Tenth Amendment

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