Amendments IX & X (A Refresher On The Big Picture)

[aden_nak]

Amendment IX: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X: 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.

If you ask most people to tell you about the Bill of Rights, they'll remember what's in the first two Amendments easily. They might even be able to say something about habeas corpus and cruel and unusual punishment. But it's almost a guaran-damn-tee that most Americans can't tell you what is written in Amendments IX and X. And honestly, while I do feel that the government is treading roughly over the vast majority of the Bill of Rights, I think that the last two Amendments, the oft-forgotten and largely vague ideas of rights and powers as a contract between citizen and government, are the two that are in the most danger. And in many ways, they are the most important.

Some interesting information and links: Ninth Amendment Wiki & Tenth Amendment Wiki