The Tenth Amendment Movement

There is a State sovereignty movement gaining steam in America that has little to do with the issue of secession that plagued America in between 1861 – 1865 (War Between the States, Civil War, North VS South or however one wishes to described the bloodiest conflict on American soil).

The issue of State sovereignty in the American 21st century is called the Tenth Amendment Movement seems to have received its initial boost from the State of Oklahoma. It is actually incredible the amount of State Legislatures that have introduced or passed bills upholding their sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

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. (10th Amendment/Bill of Rights)

The issue of States has largely diminished since the North beat the South in the Civil War. States Rights further became a dead issue when the Civil Rights Movement rightly ended State mandated segregation and enforced Federally mandated equal rights between White-Americans and Afro-Americans. President Barack Hussein Obama is evidence of how far Federally mandated Civil Rights took hold in America.

Federally mandated Civil Rights have been a blessing for America; however it is also an example of how the Federal government has become more of a centralized government. The centralized government is abandoning the concept of Federalism. Issues not covered by the U.S. Constitution have allowed a centralized government to usurp the sovereignty of the States of the Union.

There are all sorts of issues that would better be solved in individual States rather than Federal meddling. The issues of abortion, prayer in public, homosexual marriage and some that elude me at this moment would be less controversial if the law was a local-State matter rather than a Federal-centralized government matter.

Since the Tenth Amendment is already in existence the near modern impossibility of a Constitutional Amendment is not necessary. The U.S. Congress merely has to add legislation specifying which Federal sovereignty is and which is State sovereignty. Congress can even direct the Supreme Court concerning renewed Federalism.

Speaking of the Courts, it is judicial rulings that have eroded State sovereignty. You can read about some of those rulings HERE.

Then read a couple of essays (HERE and HERE) at the website Tenth Amendment Center.

JRH 8/10/09