Posted on 02/01/2015 3:35:59 AM PST by Jacquerie
Public opinion sets bounds to every government, and is the real sovereign in every free one.
As there are cases where the public opinion must be obeyed by the government; so there are cases, where not being fixed, it may be influenced by the government. This distinction, if kept in view, would prevent or decide many debates on the respect due from the government to the sentiments of the people.
In proportion as government is influenced by opinion, it must be so, by whatever influences opinion. This decides the question concerning a Constitutional Declaration of Rights, which requires an influence on government, by becoming a part of the public opinion.
The larger a country, the less easy for its real opinion to be ascertained, and the less difficult to be counterfeited; when ascertained or presumed, the more respectable it is in the eyes of individuals. This is favorable to the authority of government. For the same reason, the more extensive a country, the more insignificant is each individual in his own eyes. This may be unfavorable to liberty.
Whatever facilitates a general intercourse of sentiments, as good roads, domestic commerce, a free press, and particularly a circulation of newspapers through the entire body of the people, and Representatives going from, and returning among every part of them, is equivalent to a contraction of territorial limits, and is favorable to liberty, where these may be too extensive.
Here, Madison writes that public opinion sets the bounds to free government. By this, public opinion is the sovereign.
Sometimes, public opinion is influenced by the government.
So, whatever influences public opinion, also influences government. The Bill of Rights (just ratified on Dec 15th) will affect public opinion, and thus affect government.
Large territories are not friendly to ascertainment of public opinion, and each individual sees his relative insignificance to it. This condition is not friendly to liberty.
Whatever facilitates communication of sentiments, such as good roads, commerce, and particularly a free press, a wide variety of newspapers throughout the body of the people, and representatives going to and from every part of them, is the equivalent of reducing the size of the nation, and is favorable to liberty.
End.
This column was published just days after the Bill of Rights was ratified. The National Gazette was a newspaper controlled by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. Its purpose was to influence public opinion in opposition to the policies of the George Washington administration regarding payment of revolutionary war debt, funded debt, and a national bank. Madison's columns reflect a final, mature understanding of the constitution. They are all worth a read.
In this short piece, Madison touches on the first amendment's free press guarantee. Recognition of the importance of the press to a free society wasn't new, but I think it significant that free press was his first topic upon ratification of the BOR.
The grand American experiment in freedom had just started; there was no guarantee it would work. Millennia of republican theory, modified to suit the reality of pre-existing states, demanded an informed public. Madison and other philosophers believed an informed public would make the right decisions. Only when deceived by government did the people risk the loss of liberty.
Clearly, in 2015 much of the media are nothing more than tools of freedom's enemies. The national trend is full speed toward tyranny. At least we recognize it and know why.
Jacquerie, please find another site which has this same document. The link you gave doesn’t allow anyone to open it unless they download it. I tried other documents on that site, but again, it tries to download the file.
Please hit the abuse button when you have a working link to another site and we’ll replace your link with the new one.
Thanks.
Done.
Thanks for finding a working link. We have replaced your earlier link with the new one.
Nothing was lost on the great men who founded this amazing country.
Did a certain constitutional scholar read this? ;-)
That's a problem when the public opinion is so largely uninformed.
As is well known at FR, media = rat party. Both are appendages of government. The pubbies are willing bystanders.
That and government union K-12 schools indoctrination centers.
James Madison hisself.
I was referring to the supposed one from Chicago. :-)
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