FREE ESSAY ON NATIONAL COLLECTIVE ACTION

NATIONAL COLLECTIVE ACTION

The framers of the U.S. Constitution were men who wanted to solve the problems of
collective action and agency loss. The Articles of Confederation contained many
weaknesses, and to amend this, the framers sought to create a strong central government
that could delegate authority and cut down transaction costs. Many compromises were
necessary in order to solve these conflicts. The framers adopted certain changes that
helped to balance the need for effective national collective action against the dangers
inherent in the delegation of any authority. This balance represented the political
theory that was the basis for the Constitution, and it created the background for the
incredibly arduous equality struggle endured by African Americans. 
The first task that needed to be accomplished at the Constitutional Convention was
disposing of the Articles of Confederation. Under this document, there was no strong
central government and legislature could not impose taxes. Instead, they had to rely on
the states to voluntarily contribute tax money, which created a huge free rider problem
and would not let the US pay off the debts incurred during the war. There was also no
central currency under the Articles of Confederation, which led to an unstable economy
and high transaction costs during trade. The framers knew that in order to solve these
problems, they needed to create a strong central government that could delegate authority
and cut down transaction costs. 
The conflicts and compromises that ensued because of this decision would frame the United
States government. In settling these conflicts, the framers of the Constitution attempted
to protect against the dangers inherent in the delegation of authority to government
officials required to produce it. For example, the fight between sparsely populated
states and heavily populated states for representation was settled by creating a
bicameral Congress. This revelation was a product of Madison's blueprint for a new
Constitution, now known as the Virginia Plan. It was the first major step in shifting the
focus of deliberations from fixing the confederation to reconsidering the requirements of
a national union, and it provoked the proposal of the New Jersey Plan, which advocated
state power. With a bicameral legislature, two houses would exist within the government.
The Great Compromise stipulated that a lower chamber (House of Representatives) would be
composed of representatives based on population, while an upper chamber would consist of
equal representation for every state. The authority to levy taxes was reserved to the
lower chamber as well. This was one of the ways the framers of the Constitution ensured
against the abuse of delegated authority while pursuing the effective collective action
they needed. 
The framers feared that a concentration of power in any one group or branch of government
would lead to tyranny. In an effort to avoid the domination of government by one group,
they devised the system of checks and balances in the Constitution. In this system, each
of the three branches has some capacity to limit the power of the other two. It largely
originated with the French philosopher Charles de Montesquieu, who argued that the power
to govern could be effectively limited by dividing it among multiple branches of
government. For example, while Congress passes legislation, the president can veto that
legislation, and courts can declare executive acts unconstitutional. The executive was
decidedly to be chosen in a manner that exercised the states' rights as the electoral
college was created. This inspired political parties, for there was no other easy way to
gain the majority of electors. The framers also agreed to include the Bill of Rights in
the Constitution to ensure that citizens would not be tyrannized by the powerful elite.
The framers created multiple ways to amend the Constitution so that power did not rest
too heavily upon one group. One way 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 necessary...you 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 other's temptation to misbehave. Many of the Constitution's 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, 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 the dangers inherent in the delegation of authority to government officials
required to produce it. The balance achieved was one based on politics, and it would
affect the success of every movement in the United States, including the African American
struggle for civil rights.