The Federal System

THE FEDERAL SYSTEM

2007

In the Bill of Rights , the original intent of Tenth Amendment to the Constitution was all-encompassing language to speak to any situation not already addressed by the Constitution , in terms of how those situations may affect the states that originally comprised the United States . In stating 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 (U .S . Constitution ) the framers purposefully granted all states the right to legislate

anything not already addressed by the Constitution . While this reservation of powers to the states is clear , it may be important to differentiate between issues that the Founding Fathers could have pondered , and issues that are modern in nature . Therefore , individual states should have the power to legislate in certain areas , while in others , more restraint may be necessary , including legislation on a Federal level

One area the Founding Fathers could not have anticipated in granting rights to the states is setting speed limits on state highways . At the time the Constitution was ratified , the only vehicles on the roadways used actual horsepower - and a speed limit was not a factor . In this area , individual states should absolutely have the right to determine appropriate speed limits on state highways , for it is far more reasonable for this to be done on a local level than at a Federal level However , on both interstate and intrastate highways , the Federal Government used coercion from 1974 through 1995 to limit speed limits throughout the nation to 55 miles per hour , withholding funding for highway improvements from states that did not comply (Moore , 6 ) Since 1995 , states have successfully legislated their own speed limits , and under the rights granted by the Tenth Amendment , should continue to do so , in to take into consideration local conditions when setting limits

In other areas , the Founding Fathers may have given some thought to issues such as a legal drinking age , the minimum age for marriage , the death penalty and restrictions on abortion and chose not to include guidance to any end within the Constitution . On the issue of drinking states have the right to legislate their own laws , but , like the national speed limit , the Federal government uses the withholding of highway funding in to coerce the enforcement of 21 as the legal age to purchase alcohol . The division of sides on this particular issue since the Federal law 's enactment in 1984 is quite clear , but whether the age chosen for enforcement by the Federal government is right or wrong , it does bring about a continuity that was non-existent when states enforced varying ages . Ronald Reagan , then president , explained the rationale for superseding state 's rights by saying The problem is bigger than the individual States . It 's a grave national problem , and it touches all our lives . With the problem so clear-cut and the proven solution at hand , we have no misgivings...