“Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”
— Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Dr. James Currie (28 January 1786)
“The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted, when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure.”
Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Marquis de la Fayette (November 4, 1823)
“I am … for freedom of the press, and against all violations of the Constitution to silence by force and not by reason the complaints or criticisms, just or unjust, of our citizens against the conduct of their agents.
— Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Elbridge Gerry, January 26, 1799
“No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press. It is, therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions.
— Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Judge John Tyler (June 28, 1804)
“I have been for some time used as the property of the newspapers, a fair mark for every man’s dirt.”
— Thomas Jefferson to Peregrine Fitzhugh, 1798
“[I have seen] repeated instances of the publication of what has not been intended for the public eye, and the malignity with which political enemies torture every sentence from me into meanings imagined by their own wickedness only… Not fearing these political bull-dogs, I yet avoid putting myself in the way of being baited by them, and do not wish to volunteer away that portion of tranquillity, which a firm execution of my duties will permit me to enjoy.”
—Thomas Jefferson to John Norvell, 1807
Signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Have a large Independence Day.
Thanks for this, Paul. Jefferson and Madison are two of my favorites in American History. I also had the privilege of graduating from James Madison University in Virginia!