The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution declares that "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." One of the powers not delegated to the federal government is the police power. As outlined in Chapter 2 of your text, this power is commonly used by a state to regulate the health and welfare of the people within its jurisdiction.

An example of this police power can be seen in the caseJacobson v. Massachusetts. In 1902, the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, adopted a regulation requiring all inhabitants of the city to be vaccinated, or revaccinated, against the smallpox virus. A resident of Cambridge, Henning Jacobson, refused vaccination and was prosecuted and fined. Jacobson appealed the decision to the United States Supreme Court.

In 1905, the United States Supreme Court ruled, in a 7-2 decision, against Jacobson, holding that a state, utilizing its authority under its police power, could require healthy adults to be vaccinated in the interests of the "common good."

1. Do you agree with the court's decision in Jacobson? Why or why not?
2. Considering the concept of federalism, what role, if any, does the Tenth Amendment play in defining the powers of federal and state governments? use citations