The Origins of a Free Press in Prerevolutionary ... - Web Publishing

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under the pseudonym “Cato Uticensis.” This argument did not refer to civil liberties
or freedom of the press at all. 122
Richard Henry Lee was also a strong opponent of ratification of the
Constitution and was considered a leader in the fight for a bill of rights. In a letter
to Samuel Adams, Lee wrote of the need for a Bill of Rights:
Suppose that good men came first to the administration of this
government; … and the restraint of the Press would then follow for
good purposes as it should seem, and by good men—But these
precedents will be followed by bad men to sacrifice honest and
innocent men; and to suppress the exertions of the Press for wicked
and tyrannic purposes …” 123
During the ratification debate in Virginia, R. H. Lee again proposed the addition of
a declaration of a federal bill of rights, including a guarantee of press freedom. 124 In
another letter, he noted that for such a government to work, the citizens must be
well informed: “Here arises the necessity of the freedom of the press, which is the
happiest organ of communication ever yet devised, the quickest and surest means,
of conveying intelligence to the human mind.” 125 Lee wrote a series of Letters from
the Federal Farmer that were considered some of the most effective, comprehensive
arguments against ratification of the Constitution. 126 He noted that nothing would
prevent Congress from doing exactly what the British ministry did during the
Stamp Act, and impose a heavy tax on the press, and even institute particularly
122 Virginia Independent Chronicle (Richmond: Oct. 17, 1787), quoted in Merrill Jensen, ed.,
The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution (Madison: State Historical Society of
Wisconsin, 1976), 8:70-76.
123 Richard Henry Lee to Samuel Adams NY, Oct. 5, 1787, quoted in Jensen, Documentary
History, 8: 36-38. Lee was also arguing for the need for a guarantee of a jury trial.
124 Richard Henry Lee to Edmund Randolph, “Proposed Amendments,” New York, Oct. 16,
1787, quoted in Jensen, Documentary History, 8:61-67.
125 Richard Henry Lee to Edmund Pendleton, Chantilly, May 22, 1788, from The Letters of
Richard Henry Lee, ed. James Curtis Ballagh (New York: De Capo Press, 1970), 2:469-474.
126 Schwartz, Bill of Rights, 1:464.