[Grammar] Reserved To

[NovaScotia]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenth_Amendment_to_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."

How is "reserved to" different from "reserved for" ?

 

[billmcd]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenth_Amendment_to_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."

How is "reserved to" different from "reserved for" ?

"Reserved to" means to retain ownership or rights.
"Reserved for" means to hold ownership, rights or possession to some entity until it is claimed.

 

[NovaScotia]

Thank you for your reply, billmcd!

So, "reserved to" and "reserved for" are really the same?

 

[Tdol]

No- the rights of the States and the people are completely and inalienably theirs- this is not like booking a hotel room.

 

[SoothingDave]

The idea is that the states (and the people in the states) got together and created the federal government, giving up certain powers to the new "United States" federal gov't. But they retained all other powers that they did not specifically grant (delegate) to the federal gov't in the Constitution.

The individual states (New York, Virginia, Maryland, etc.) existed as sovereign states before the United States federal gov't was created.