The amendment most frequently cited to support arguments for states’ rights is the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Quick Scoop: Core Answer

  • The Tenth Amendment declares that powers not delegated to the federal government, nor prohibited to the states, are reserved to the states or the people.
  • Because it speaks directly to the division of power between Washington, D.C., and the states, it is the primary constitutional anchor for modern states’ rights arguments.

Why the Tenth Amendment?

  • It embodies the principle of federalism , making clear that the federal government is one of limited, enumerated powers, while residual powers belong to the states.
  • In political and legal debates, especially over issues like education, gun regulation, and public health, advocates regularly invoke the Tenth Amendment to argue that certain policy areas should be left to state control.

Related Amendments (But Less Central)

  • Other provisions sometimes appear in states’ rights conversations (for example, the Eleventh Amendment on state sovereign immunity and aspects of the Fourteenth Amendment about the relationship between states and individuals), but they are not cited as consistently as the Tenth Amendment for a broad, general “states’ rights” claim.
  • In most constitutional law textbooks, historical discussions, and political rhetoric, “states’ rights” is almost shorthand for the Tenth Amendment , reflecting its long-standing role in that debate.

TL;DR: The Tenth Amendment is the go‑to constitutional provision used to bolster arguments in favor of states’ rights in the United States.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.