y allowed states to begin the amendment promise, while another began it with Congress. Although this system of operation represents the need for effective national collective action, the framers had to come up with a way to protect against those with delegated power. Because of this, the Constitution allows an amendment to be proposed either by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress of by an "application" from two-thirds of the states. After this, enactment of the amendment only occurs if three-fourths of the states accepts it. When the balance of the need for capable national collective action against the dangers in authority given to government officials was finally struck, it was a more a product of politics than political theory. In his famous Federalist No. 51, Madison said, "If men were angels, no government would be necessaryyou must enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself". The problem of self-governance is expressed in this statement, as is the likelihood that tyranny by the majority would arise within a democracy. The solution lies in pitting politicians against each other in the system of checks and balances, because this allows them to counteract each others temptation to misbehave. Many of the Constitutions provisions have no theoretical rationale; they are simply products of political compromise. This is evident in the lack of justification for such decisions as the three-fifths rule and malapportioned Senate. The Constitution was a plan that a substantial majority favored over the status quo and all could live with, although no delegate favored it. As the nation aged, nationalization increased, which resulted in a decrease of states rights. The framers left many issues regarding this power struggle unresolved. Civil Rights was one of the first problems to arise as slavery. Every step of the civil rights movement took place because of the presence of politics,...
