Essay 23: Freedom of the Press in the United States (Vol. 1 Pt. 2 Ch. 3) of Democracy in America by Alexis De Tocqueville
Essay Read by Constituting America Founder, Actress Janine Turner
Freedom of the Press in the United States
By George Landrith, President, Frontiers of Freedom Institute
Our Founding Fathers saw freedom of the press as a foundational element of being a free and sovereign people. They had seen Redcoats arrest writers and destroy printing presses used to publish papers that were critical of Parliament and the Crown. So they made sure that our First Amendment specifically prohibited the government from abridging the freedom of the press and of speech.
De Tocqueville, a Frenchmen, came to study and analyze democracy in America and what made it work. His seminal work was the book – Democracy in America which he published in 1835. Not surprisingly, it includes an extensive discussion of freedom of the press.
De Tocqueville acknowledged that freedom of the press might be abused at times, but he also understood that freedom of the press, even with its imperfections, prevents great evils of abusive government power used to control and manipulate the people. He grasped that a choice between government censorship and a free press was actually a choice between servitude and independence. And like our Founders, De Tocqueville came down on the side of independence and individual liberty.
One of De Tocqueville’s observations was that in France, the newspapers were highly centralized whereas in America newspapers were dispersed, numerous and local. In America, nearly anyone could start their own newspaper or publication and could argue for the proposals or solutions that he or she thought best. Because of this freedom of the press, political information was widely available throughout the entire nation and covered many different perspectives. Thus, the American public was able to debate and evaluate the various political issues and in many cases come to a national consensus after a robust national debate. The wide array of newspapers and publications that enjoyed the freedom of the press played an important part in this national debate.
Among a free and sovereign people, determining what is true is our job. And we need a full spectrum of information and a robust debate to help us determine what is truth versus what is misinformation. The First Amendment’s free speech and free press protections are the best way to be sure we can decipher fact from fiction and truth from lies. Censorship has proven over hundreds of years to be a poor method for arriving at truth. Our founder’s believed this and interestingly, De Tocqueville came to a similar conclusion.
A brief review or comparison of societies across the globe throughout history reveals a great deal. Every totalitarian dictator in modern history has used censorship to empower themselves and to control and subjugate the masses. No dictator in modern history has protected the right of his political adversaries to express their views. Instead, the expression of dissent is seen as an act of treason and merely disagreeing with those in power can result in punishment.
As an inspired break from this trend of using censorship to control the masses, our Founders guaranteed that we could express our dissent and we could even peaceably assemble with the express purpose of stating our disagreement with the government’s actions.
Both our Founders and De Tocqueville wisely understood that we cannot hope to be a free and prosperous people if freedom of speech and the press is only allowed if the content is approved of by those in positions of government power. And we should never base our approval on the concept of a free press on whether we agree with the content.
I am confronted regularly with ideas and content that I believe to be wrong-headed, but its value is that it facilitates a robust public debate and that debate is an important foundational element of our nation’s freedom and strength. Even if I strongly disagree with the writer’s perspective, the answer is to honestly and fairly critique their argument and explain its errors and provide a better option. But it isn’t helpful to seek to silence them simply because we believe them to be wrong.
Another Frenchman, Voltaire, was quoted by his biographer, Evelyn Beatrice Hall, as having said, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” This is very much inline with the views of our Founders and De Tocqueville.
If we believe in freedom of the press only for those with whom we agree, then we don’t really believe in freedom of the press. Freedom of the press plays a fundamental role in a self-governing society where the people enjoy freedom. If we allow freedom of speech or the press to be eroded, the foundations of our liberty will also be eroded. So being pro-freedom of the press is simply being for American foundations of liberty and against government with totalitarian instincts. We can thank De Tocqueville for his keen powers of observation and analysis in Democracy in America.
George Landrith is the President of Frontiers of Freedom Institute – a public policy think tank devoted to promoting freedom, the Constitution, the rule of law, a strong national defense, free markets, and individual liberty. Mr. Landrith is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was the Business Editor of the Virginia Journal of Law and Politics. He is admitted to the bar in Virginia and California and is also a member of the United States Supreme Court bar. As an adjunct professor at the George Mason School of Law, he taught constitutional law and appellate advocacy.
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Hello and thanks for joining our blog! I’m Janine Turner, founder of Constituting America!
This reading in Democracy in America by De Tocqueville on the freedom of the press is a fascinating read!
Here are some De Tocqueville quotes on page 179 that I find philosophically intriguing: “Man believes firmly because he adopts without going deeply.” And “They will believe without knowing why or not know precisely what one must believe.” And “In their doubt of opinions, men in the end attach themselves solely to instincts and material interests, which are much more visible, more tangible, and more permanent in their nature than opinions.”
I think George Landrith did a laudable job interpreting this De Tocqueville reading!
Here is my favorite quote from his essay:
“Another Frenchman, Voltaire, was quoted by his biographer, Evelyn Beatrice Hall, as having said, ‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’ ” This is very much in line with the views of our Founders and De Tocqueville.”
I’d love to hear your opinions on these clips and your interpretations of the readings today!
Spread the word for us! Help us accentuate an educated populace because History Holds the Key to the Future!
All my best,
Janine
Janine, the quote I like is “What the readers look for in newspapers is knowledge of facts, not journalists’ personal opinions; only by altering or distorting these facts can a journalist gain some influence for his views.” Journalists and Opinion Writers have different roles in the media, but today’s “journalists” in print and media have assumed that their journalism extends beyond the mere searching for and writing about the facts so that readers and viewers can use those facts to make their own decisions. Those who call themselves Journalists, instead, have decided, and been trained by journalism colleges, that their job is to decide the truth and report only facts that support their decisions. It’s only since the advent of conservative talk radio and TV that we citizen sovereigns have been able to hear the facts and the other side of the political opinions.
The quote you note about citizens adopting opinions without going deep is a sad footnote in our modern society. I know in my own family that everyone is so busy with obligations and commitments from work and school that no one really has time to read authors like Tocqueville, Aristotle, Montesquieu, or even opinion writers of opposing viewpoints. Thus, we make decisions based mostly on what we hear or read from supposed “journalists,” but in reality, political advocates for mostly Progressive policies.
Just got to keep in mind all of the amendments and why they’re there. And keep in mind that the second is there to protect all the rest of our natural rights not give to us by the government or anyone else.