LS500 Unit 1 Seminar Professor Michele Wolf

Welcome!  Contact Info: Office Hours: Sun 7-8 PM & Sat AM

Let’s take a tour  Log into the course site  Keep audio on  We’ll tour the course site together

Seminars  Graded Seminars  No make up work for missed seminars unless prior arrangements are made  Seminars are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED  All seminars are recorded for your review

Discussion Board For Maximum Points:  Responses to each discussion question are across at least three days during the unit (Wednesday - Tuesday)  Responses are to several (3 – 5) students during the discussion  Contributions – to each discussion question and to classmates - are thoughtful, include original evaluation, synthesis or analysis of the topic on the discussion board  Responses are relevant, meaningful, tactful, and original.  Responses advance the discussion on the discussion board  Contributions are clear and concise  Contributions are mechanically and grammatically correct

Assignments  Check rubrics in Doc Sharing before starting any assignment  Writing assignments due in Units 1, 3, 4, 6, 7,8 and 9

Late Policy  Work is due by Midnight EST Tuesdays for each unit  Possible late penalty = 5%  Request an extension!  I will grant all extension requests received via prior to a due date

Grading Timelines  DB work graded every Wednesday  All written work will be graded within 5 days of submission. Assignments submitted early will not be graded before the due date.

Let’s Jump In! The "Great Charter" drawn up on the field at Runnymede on June 15, 1215 between King John and his feudal barons failed to resolve the crisis that had been brewing in England ever since the death of John's brother King Richard I. Over the long term, however, Magna Carta served to lay the foundation for the evolution of parliamentary government and subsequent declarations of rights in Great Britain and the United States. In attempting to establish checks on the king's powers, this document asserted the right of "due process" of law. By the end of the 13th century, it provided the basis for the idea of a "higher law," one that could not be altered either by executive mandate or legislative acts. This concept, embraced by the leaders of the American Revolution, is embedded in the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution and enforced by the Supreme Court. Source:

Magna Carta 1. Rule of law  Powers and privileges of the king are clearly defined and limited  Charter provides for enforcement of restrictions placed on the king

Magna Carta 2. Fairness of the laws and their execution  “Reasonable” rules and regulations  Equal justice under the law  Recognition of customs, traditions, and established rights  Restoration of property and fines if not justly taken  Punishment in proportion to the crime

Magna Carta 3. Commitment to “due process of law”  Established procedures No trial without evidence/testimony to support accusations  Reliance on local courts and magistrates  Trials held in a timely manner  Trials open to the public  Trial by a jury of one’s peers

Magna Carta 4. Respect for economic rights  Right to property  Fairness in economic transactions – standard weights and measures  Reimbursement for and/or restoration of property  Freedom for merchants to move in order to conduct business

Mayflower Compact In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience. In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini; 1620.

Later Significance of the Mayflower Compact The Mayflower Compact was an interim document that governed the colonists only until an official charter was obtained. It is an exaggeration to see it as the forerunner of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. The Mayflower Compact did, however, embody the guiding and lasting principles of the Pilgrims as expressed by their pastor John Robinson: separation of Church and state in a "civil body politic" and the rule of "just and equal laws.“ As an early example of democracy in America, the Mayflower Compact has remained an inspiration since "Here was a unanimous and personal assent by all the individuals of the community to the association by which they became a nation."John Quincy Adams, 1802 Source:

Need help?  me with any questions or concerns  Communication is the key to success  Do not be afraid or too proud to ask for help  I am here to help you  Let’s work together and have a great term!