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Presidential Studies, served as the event's emcee and noted that the constitutional separation of powers ful- filled James Madison's vision for "ambition checking ambition." Dr. John Haskell, director of the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, moderated the first panel, "Audacious Vision: Why a Separation of Pow- ers." e panel featured Gene Healy, vice president at the Cato Institute; Dr. Alison LaCroix, Robert Newton Reid professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School; and Dr. James I. Wallner, senior fellow at the R Street Institute. e panelists discussed con- cepts of "productive friction" and how the framers of the Constitution, especially James Madison, viewed the inherent conflict between and within the branches of the federal government as an asset rather than a liability. e second panel, "Uneven History: Separation of Powers and the Struggle for Equal Rights," was moder- ated by Ron Elving, who is senior editor and correspon- dent on the Washington desk for NPR News. e panel featured Jesse J. Holland, a race and ethnicity reporter for e Associated Press; Dr. Yuval Levin, vice presi- dent and Hertog Fellow at the Ethics and Public Pol- icy Center; and Victoria Frances Nourse, a professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center. e panelists debated how the separation of powers shaped the evolution of civil rights, and in particular how the courts came to be the primary decision-making body. Dr. James A. urber, who is a distinguished professor of government at American University in Washington, D.C., moderated the third and final panel, "Uncertain Future: Party Polarization and Leg- islative-Executive Balance." e panel featured Dr. Sarah Binder, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution; Dr. Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute; and Manu Raju, a senior congressional correspondent at CNN. e panelists discussed how party polarization has shaped the separation—and balance—of powers between the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. C-SPAN was on hand to record the event; full videos of the panels are available on c-span.org. USCHS HOSTS SYMPOSIUM, RECEPTION HONORING WILLIAM THORNTON O n 30 November 2018, the United States Capi- tol Historical Society—in partnership with the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, the Octagon, and Tudor Place—presented an academic symposium and reception in honor of Dr. William ornton, the First Architect of the Capitol. 2018 marked the 225th anni- versary of both the acceptance of ornton's plan for the Capitol and the laying of the Capitol's cornerstone. e day's commemoration began with a morning symposium entitled "Imagining the Capitol: The Enlightened Life of Dr. William ornton." Officials and academics discussed the life and work of ornton at the historic Octagon House, one of his designs in the capital city. William C. diGiacomantonio, chief histo- rian of the USCHS welcomed attendees to the event, as did Christine Merdon, acting Architect of the Capitol, and Richard Wells, vice-principal of international part- nerships for the University of Aberdeen. C-SPAN3 was on hand to record the talks. Videos of the lectures are available on their website, c-span.org. With "ornton's Capitol, 1793, and the Atlan- tic Revolutions," Michael Brown of the University of Aberdeen placed ornton in the political context that surrounded his design of the Capitol, as both France and Haiti experienced republican revolutions and the United States embarked on creating a large, vital, com- mercial republic built on debate rather than purity. Independent historian Gordon Brown offered "William ornton—Polymath," which offered a brief biogra- THE CAPITOL DOME 62 One of the "Separation of Powers" panels dicusses party polarization. KATIE GARLOCK/PORTRAITIONS