Thomas Jefferson, Ambassador to the Kingdom of France, in a letter to Delegate Edward Carrington, of the Commonwealth of Virginia, commenting on censorship, writes,
The people are the only censors of their governors. … [W]ere it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.
[added 7/18/2026]
Subsequent Events:
References:
Thomas Jefferson, “Letter to Edward Carrington,” (January 16, 1787), Writings, Merrill D. Peterson, ed., (New York: Library of America, 1984), 879, 880.
Current U.s. National Debt:
