--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Today neither of our two parties…" description: "\"Today neither of our two parties maintains a meaningful commitment to the principle of States' Rights. The 10th Amendment is not a 'general assumption'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/barry-goldwater-3353_amendments_today-neither-of-our-two-parties-maintai_2921199.jpg" --- # Today neither of our two parties maintains a meaningful… ![“Today neither of our two parties maintains a meaningful commitment to the principle of States' Rights. The 10th Amendment is not a 'general assumption' but a rule of law. States rights mean that states have a right to act or not to act, as they see fit, in areas reserved to them.” quote by Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/barry-goldwater-3353_amendments_today-neither-of-our-two-parties-maintai_2921199.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/barry-goldwater-3353_amendments_today-neither-of-our-two-parties-maintai_2921199.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/barry-goldwater-3353_amendments_today-neither-of-our-two-parties-maintai_2921199.jpg) > “Today neither of our two parties maintains a meaningful commitment to the principle of States' Rights. The 10th Amendment is not a 'general assumption' but a rule of law. States rights mean that states have a right to act or not to act, as they see fit, in areas reserved to them.” [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. States' rights protect federalism; the 10th Amendment is a legal principle, not a vague idea. **In simple terms:** States' rights are legal. Key Takeaway Uphold constitutional federalism. Themes constitution states' rights federalism Mood analytical serious Type political educational When to use this quote - legislation - court decisions - state governance - public policy Key Concepts legal framework political theory Questions to Reflect On - How should states balance national standards? - What limits exist on state autonomy? A Different Perspective Interpretations of the 10th Amendment vary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [10Th Amendment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/10th-amendment-978350/) [Amendments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amendments/) [Areas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/areas/) [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Fit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fit/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Meaningful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Principle States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principle-states-4257337/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Reserved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reserved/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Rights 10Th](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights-10th-4257338/) [Rule of law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-of-law/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [States Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states-right-1589201/) [States rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states-rights/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [“The Tenth Amendment recognizes the States' jurisdiction in certain areas. States' Rights means that the States have a right to act or not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-m-goldwater/the-tenth-amendment-recognizes-the-states-jurisdiction-in-certain/) [Barry M. Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-m-goldwater/) > [Abortion is a states' rights issue. Education is a states' right issue. Medicinal marijuana is a states' rights issue. Gay marraige is a states'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-allyn-root/abortion-is-a-states-rights-issue-education-is-a-states-right-issue/) [Wayne Allyn Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-allyn-root/) > [To hold that Congress has general police power would be to hold that it may accomplish objects not intrusted to the general government, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melville-fuller/to-hold-that-congress-has-general-police-power-would-be-to-hold-that/) [Melville Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melville-fuller/) > [The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-story/the-powers-not-delegated-to-the-united-states-by-the-constitution-nor/) [Joseph Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-story/) > [I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground that 'all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-consider-the-foundation-of-the-constitution-as-laid-on-this-ground/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [What we can do where we live is advocate again to bring back to life the 10th Amendment, to bring back to life those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-cuccinelli/what-we-can-do-where-we-live-is-advocate-again-to-bring-back-to-life/) [Ken Cuccinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-cuccinelli/) > [I think it's unconstitutional on the 10th Amendment front.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-think-it-s-unconstitutional-on-the-10th-amendment-front/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Specifically, the reservation of sovereignty to the people of the states in matters not governed by federal law is constitutionally defined and permanently enshrined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-thornburgh/specifically-the-reservation-of-sovereignty-to-the-people-of-the/) [Dick Thornburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-thornburgh/) > [I support local solutions to illegal immigration as protected by the 10th amendment. I support making English the official language of all documents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-support-local-solutions-to-illegal-immigration-as-protected-by-the/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [If U.S. national sovereignty continues, it is only as a state that Puerto Rico will have permanent 10th Amendment powers over its non-federal affairs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-thornburgh/if-u-s-national-sovereignty-continues-it-is-only-as-a-state-that/) [Dick Thornburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-thornburgh/) > [I'm not up for changing the 10th amendment or the 14th amendment, the first amendment or the second amendment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-breitbart/i-m-not-up-for-changing-the-10th-amendment-or-the-14th-amendment-the/) [Andrew Breitbart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-breitbart/) > [Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/every-time-you-have-an-occasion-to-take-something-from-the-federal/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [If the States do not have the right to secede, then they have no rights at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/if-the-states-do-not-have-the-right-to-secede-then-they-have-no/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [The Supreme Court has been clear that states have the right to protect their citizens against out-of-state regulations that would burden those citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-hawley/the-supreme-court-has-been-clear-that-states-have-the-right-to/) [Josh Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-hawley/) > [The 10th Amendment is very clear about what the federal government's role is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burgum/the-10th-amendment-is-very-clear-about-what-the-federal-government-s/) [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) ## More by Barry Goldwater > [Remember that a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/remember-that-a-government-big-enough-to-give-you-everything-you-want/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [To insist on strength ... is not war-mongering. It is peace-mongering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/to-insist-on-strength-is-not-war-mongering-it-is-peace-mongering/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Social and cultural change, however desirable, should not be effected by the engines of national power. Let us, through persuasion and education, seek to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/social-and-cultural-change-however-desirable-should-not-be-effected/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Having spent 37 years of my life in the military as a reservist, and never having met a gay in all of that time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/having-spent-37-years-of-my-life-in-the-military-as-a-reservist-and/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Some programs have been theatrical masterpieces, but all we're seeing is the negative side of nuclear war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/some-programs-have-been-theatrical-masterpieces-but-all-we-re-seeing/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [My mother took us to services at the Episcopal church. Yet she always said that God was not just inside the four walls of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/my-mother-took-us-to-services-at-the-episcopal-church-yet-she-always/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [You don't need to be straight to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/you-don-t-need-to-be-straight-to-fight-and-die-for-your-country-you/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents' "interests," I shall reply that I was informed that their main interest is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/and-if-i-should-later-be-attacked-for-neglecting-my-constituents/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Nixon was the most dishonest individual I have ever met in my life. He lied to his wife, his family, his friends, his colleagues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/nixon-was-the-most-dishonest-individual-i-have-ever-met-in-my-life-he/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Forced integration is just as wrong as forced segregation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/forced-integration-is-just-as-wrong-as-forced-segregation/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Religious factions will go on imposing their will on others unless the decent people connected to them recognize that religion has no place in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/religious-factions-will-go-on-imposing-their-will-on-others-unless/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Government should stay the hell out of people's business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/government-should-stay-the-hell-out-of-people-s-business/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [I think some highly secret government UFO investigations are going on that we don't know about--and probably never will unless the Air Force discloses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/i-think-some-highly-secret-government-ufo-investigations-are-going-on/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Conservatism, we are told, is out-of-date. This charge is preposterous and we ought to boldly say so. The laws of God, and of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/conservatism-we-are-told-is-out-of-date-this-charge-is-preposterous/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [Once upon a time our traditional goal in war and can anyone doubt that we are at war? - was victory. Once upon a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/once-upon-a-time-our-traditional-goal-in-war-and-can-anyone-doubt/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) [Explore all 133 Barry Goldwater quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) ## More Amendments quotes > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The First Amendment makes confidence in the common sense of our people and in the maturity of their judgement the great postulate of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/the-first-amendment-makes-confidence-in-the-common-sense-of-our/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [Anybody who pretends that how you read the 10th and 11th Amendment doesn't have a fundamental impact on the things we care about is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/anybody-who-pretends-that-how-you-read-the-10th-and-11th-amendment/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [I have a lot of guns on my ranch. I don't use them for hunting. I'm not a hunter. It's for protection. The Second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-norris/i-have-a-lot-of-guns-on-my-ranch-i-don-t-use-them-for-hunting-i-m-not/) [Chuck Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-norris/) > [All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/all-human-situations-have-their-inconveniences-we-feel-those-of-the/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/if-in-the-opinion-of-the-people-the-distribution-or-modification-of/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The First Amendment exists to protect our religious liberty--to ensure that all Americans are able to seek out worship God with all our hearts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/the-first-amendment-exists-to-protect-our-religious-liberty-to-ensure/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people duly before them, may attempt to tyrannize,... The people are confirmed by the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tench-coxe/as-civil-rulers-not-having-their-duty-to-the-people-duly-before-them/) [Tench Coxe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tench-coxe/) > [The lessons of the First Amendment are as urgent in the modern world as the 18th Century when it was written. One timeless lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kennedy/the-lessons-of-the-first-amendment-are-as-urgent-in-the-modern-world/) [Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/) > [The American people intuitively understand this, which is why the majority of Catholics practice birth control and some of those opposed to gay marriage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-american-people-intuitively-understand-this-which-is-why-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I think the reality is that copyright law has for a very long time been a tiny little part of American jurisprudence, far removed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/i-think-the-reality-is-that-copyright-law-has-for-a-very-long-time/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-country-can-preserve-its-liberties-if-its-rulers-are-not-warned/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The Second Amendment has no place in modern society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/the-second-amendment-has-no-place-in-modern-society/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) [Browse all 709 Amendments quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amendments/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Today neither of our two parties maintains a meaningful commitment to the principle of States' Rights. 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