A brief word on the Constitution
You may wish to read some of Derrek Bell's commentary on the Constitution. Many scholars believe that the limits of power on the federal government, was not as a buffer against tyrony, but rather, to keep the government to week to act against slavery, which was seen as the foundation of the southern ecconomy in spite of the fact that many slave owners, like Patrick Henry wrote about the torment they felt over the evils of slavery, of cource he was not nearly as tormented as his slaves, nor did he feel guilty enough to set his fellow men free.
Larry