as it was predicated on the existence of strong national majorities who elected politicians that would support the Civil Rights movement. Trying to maximize their representation in the House of Representatives, southern delegates insisted that slaves were undeniably people and should be included in their population count. Northerners, however, argued that since slaves did not enjoy the freedom to act as autonomous citizens, they should not be counted at all. The compromise reached was that each slave would count as three-fifths of a citizen. Although the importation of slaves was eventually banned, the Constitution required that northerners return runaway slaves to their masters. In the end, the U.S. Constitution sanctioned slavery. Slavery and then segregation endured almost two centuries before the national majority struck out against local tyranny. This is because the framers ceded in the Constitution a broad, exclusive jurisdiction to the states rather than providing for a national veto over state laws. African Americans faced two obstacles in securing rights. One was the Constitution itself, which reserves the important authority for the states, such as determining voting eligibility, and separates powers among the three branches of government. The second obstacle they faced in the battle for civil rights was the observation that people do not engage in costly behavior without some expected return. When factions do not possess the capacity to defend themselves, tyranny cannot be avoided. The politics of self-interest in a fragmented constitutional system explains why it took so long to eradicate slavery and other forms of discrimination endured by African Americans. The framers of the Constitution were concerned with the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation, and sought to correct them with an entirely new document. While effective national collective action was decidedly key, the framers were careful in protecting against ...
