On Thursday, September 18, over 270 students, staff, and faculty attended Discourse in Democracy’s annual “Constitution Day Lecture.” This year’s speaker, Dr. Jeremy D. Bailey, Professor of Humanities at the Hamilton School of Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida, presented a lecture on “Native Nations and Jefferson’s Constitution of 1804.” The lecture explored America’s interactions with native nations following the Louisiana Purchase. It discussed his proposed legislation, conflicts between settlers and native inhabitants, and property law.
The next day, Dr. Bailey hosted a seminar for over 30 students and faculty members that addressed the subject of “Jefferson and Slavery” by exploring letters exchanged between Thomas Jefferson and Edward Coles regarding the emancipation of slaves in Virginia.
Isabel Duarte, a graduate student in political science who attended the seminar, said, “It taught me a lot about Jefferson’s anti-slavery sentiments. Knowing he himself owned slaves, this was really surprising. It was amazing to meet Dr. Bailey and have engaging discussions with other students and professors.”
Dr. Bailey’s books include Thomas Jefferson and the Executive Power (Cambridge University Press), James Madison and Constitutional Imperfection (Cambridge University Press), and The Idea of Presidential Representation (University of Kansas Press). His articles have appeared in a wide variety of journals including the American Political Science Review, Presidential Studies Quarterly, and the History of Political Thought. From 2019 to 2023, he served as editor of American Political Thought.
The department’s Constitution Day activities were made possible by a generous grant from the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles and History. Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is an American federal observance commemorating the signing of the United States Constitution in 1787 and recognizing those who have become United States citizens by coming of age or through naturalization.
