Which amendment reserves powers not delegated to the United States to the states or the people?

Which amendment reserves powers not delegated to the United States to the states or the people?

• A. The federal government has unlimited powers
• B. Powers not delegated to the United States are reserved to the states or the people
• C. Citizens have the right to free speech
• D. The President can veto any law

Answer: (B)

Power is shared between the national government and the states, with only the powers explicitly granted to the federal level allowed to be used by it. The statement that “powers not delegated to the United States are reserved to the states or the people” directly expresses that limit and is the core idea behind the Tenth Amendment. It enshrines federalism by reserving all other authority to the states or the people, ensuring the federal government cannot overstep its constitutional boundaries. The other options describe separate constitutional ideas—one about unlimited federal power, another about free speech, and another about the President’s veto—so they don’t capture this specific mechanism of distributing powers.

Power is shared between the national government and the states, with only the powers explicitly granted to the federal level allowed to be used by it. The statement that “powers not delegated to the United States are reserved to the states or the people” directly expresses that limit and is the core idea behind the Tenth Amendment. It enshrines federalism by reserving all other authority to the states or the people, ensuring the federal government cannot overstep its constitutional boundaries. The other options describe separate constitutional ideas—one about unlimited federal power, another about free speech, and another about the President’s veto—so they don’t capture this specific mechanism of distributing powers.