Vpr Commentary Series

In 1787, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison wrote a series of articles called the Federalist Papers in order to persuade citizens in the newly formed United States to adopt the U.S. Constitution. Madison argued passionately that adopting the Constitution would protect local citizens from tyranny, by restricting the role of the Federal Government. In Federalist 39, James Madison wrote: ‘the proposed government cannot be deemed a national one; since its jurisdiction extends to certain enumerated objects only,’ leaving to the states, he concludes, an ‘inviolable sovereignty over all other objects.’ And I might argue that one of those inviolable objects would be regulating noise levels in their community. Recently, the Burlington Airport unveiled noise mitigation maps showing that twenty six hundred homes would be eligible to receive new windows, extra insulation and other subsidies to lessen the impact from the F-35 fighter planes that will soon be flying overhead. Public