The Federalist Papers

The Federalist is widely considered to be one of the most influential political writings in the early United States. Consisting of eighty-five essays in total, the first seventy-seven essays were originally published in New York newspapers between October 1787 and April 1788, and the final eight appeared in the first collected edition of The Federalist in 1788, although they were later republished in New York newspapers as well. The Federalist was written collectively by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to promote the ratification of the newly drafted Constitution. In keeping with the conventions of 18th-century public political debate, The Federalist was published under the pseudonym “Publius” to present its arguments to the public in anonymous terms, focusing attention on the content of the essays rather than the personal views or personalities of the authors. Although Hamilton, Madison, and Jay would not be formally identified as the authors of The Federalist until the publication of a notice in The Port-Folio on 14 November 1807, their collective authorship was widely known by the 1790s, and their reputations as respected statesmen and innovative political thinkers brought considerable attention and credibility to their arguments. Through the voice of Publius, The Federalist explains and defends the core principles and structure of the new government outlined within the Constitution, while also identifying the flaws and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. In doing so, The Federalist provides substantive critical and philosophical discussions of federal governance and its relationship to the principles of plural sovereignty, national unity, republican representation, citizenship, national security, commercial interests, and the separation of powers, all of which had a profound influence, not just on the ratification debates, but also on subsequent interpretations of constitutional language and authority, from the founding period to the present. While scholars have endlessly debated the political, historical, philosophical, literary, and cultural impact of The Federalist, these essays continue to serve as foundational texts for studying the politics and culture of the early United States, as well as contemporary interpretations and revisions of constitutional principles in legal, legislative, and cultural spheres.

The Mid Atlantic Appalachian Orogen Traverse: a comparison of virtual and on-location field-based capstone experiences

The Stratigraphy, Structure, Tectonics (SST) course at James Madison University incorporates a capstone project that traverses the Mid Atlantic region of the Appalachian Orogen and includes several all-day field trips. In the Fall 2020 semester, the SST field trips transitioned to a virtual format, due to restrictions from the COVID pandemic. The virtual field trip projects were developed in web-based Google Earth and incorporated other supplemental PowerPoint and PDF files. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the virtual field experiences in comparison with traditional on-location field trips, an online survey was sent to SST students that took the course virtually in Fall 2020 and to students that took the course in person in previous years. Instructors and students alike recognized that some aspects of on-location field learning, especially those with a tactile component, were not possible or effective in virtual field experiences. However, students recognized the value of virtual field experiences for reviewing and revisiting outcrops as well as noting the improved access to virtual outcrops for students with disabilities and the generally more inclusive experience of virtual field trips. Students highlighted the potential benefits for hybrid field experiences that incorporate both on-location outcrop investigations and virtual field trips, which is the preferred model for SST field experiences in Fall 2021 and into the future.

“Thirty Lashes, Well Laid On”

This chapter begins with the first importation of African slaves into colonial Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. As their numbers grew, and interracial sex produced mixed-race (called “mulatto”) children, White colonists responded with a law designating all mulatto children as slaves, overturning a grant of freedom to Elizabeth Key, a mulatto indentured servant who married a young English settler and had a child with him. The chapter discusses the Slave Codes that stripped Blacks of any rights. Slave states also banned the teaching of slaves to read and write, lest they read “incendiary” publications and revolt, as some did. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the personal conflicts over slavery felt by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and the role of Madison at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 in crafting the Great Compromise that legalized slavery as the price of creating a federal government.

A invenção improvável

Tolerância e liberdade de expressão são ideias improváveis à época das guerras de religião que marcaram a Europa pós-reforma, nos séculos XVI e XVII. O presente trabalho busca compreender de que modo estas ideias tomaram forma, e quais os argumentos fundamentais que serviram para a sua afirmação, no mundo moderno. Para isto, o texto traça um percurso histórico e intelectual que vai da publicação da Aeropagítica, de John Milton, até o On Liberty, de John Stuart Mill, passando pela argumentação desenvolvida por John Locke, em seu exilio holandês, a Carta sobre a Tolerância, e pelos escritos de James Madison no contexto que leva à instituição e consolidação da Primeira Emenda à Constituição Americana.

Homology modeling using SWISS-Model for Biochemistry I v1

Protocol for homology modeling proteins for use in Biochemistry I at James Madison University. Protocol guides students to use the SWISS-Model web server (citations below). Citations for servers: Waterhouse, A., Bertoni, M., Bienert, S., Studer, G., Tauriello, G., Gumienny, R., Heer, F. T., de Beer, T. A. P., Rempfer, C., Bordoli, L., Lepore, R., and Schwede, T. (2018) SWISS-MODEL: homology modelling of protein structures and complexes. Nucleic Acids Res. 46, W296–W303.

The Mid Atlantic Appalachian Orogen Traverse: A Comparison of Virtual and On-Location Field-Based Capstone Experiences

The Stratigraphy, Structure, Tectonics (SST) course at James Madison University incorporates a capstone project that traverses the Mid Atlantic region of the Appalachian Orogen and includes several all-day field trips. In the Fall 2020 semester, the SST field trips transitioned to a virtual format, due to restrictions from the COVID pandemic. The virtual field trip projects were developed in web-based Google Earth, along with other supplemental PowerPoint and PDF files. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the virtual field experiences in comparison with traditional on-location field trips, an online survey was sent to SST students that took the course virtually in Fall 2020 and to students that took the course in-person in previous years. Instructors and students alike recognized that some aspects of on-location field learning were not possible or effective with virtual field experiences. However, students recognized the value of virtual field experiences for reviewing and revisiting outcrops, as well as noting the improved access to virtual outcrops for students with disabilities, and the generally more inclusive experience of virtual field trips. Students highlighted the potential benefits for hybrid field experiences that incorporate both on-location outcrop investigations and virtual field trips, which is the preferred model for SST field experiences in Fall 2021 and into the future.

The Federal Constitution

This chapter describes the Convention that met in Philadelphia from the end of May to mid-September 1787 to draft the new federal Constitution. The Virginia plan, created largely by James Madison, was the working model for the Constitution. It proposed a strong national government with an executive, a bicameral legislature, and a Supreme Court. The main controversy had to do with whether both houses of the legislature would be based on proportional representation as the Virginia plan proposed. The small states objected, and after much debate the Convention agreed to equal representation with two senators from each state. To elect the president, the Convention created an alternative Congress, which became the electoral college. In the state-ratifying conventions the opponents of the Constitution raised the fears of consolidation and aristocracy.