Reception and influence of John Milton’s Areopagitica in American Colonial and Revolutionary Ideology: From Franklin to Jefferson

Authors

  • María Nieves Saldaña Díaz Universidad de Huelva

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17811/hc.v0i13.348

Keywords:

Modern concept of press freedom, John Milton’s Areopagitica, reception and Influence, American colonial and revolutionary ideology

Abstract

The writing that inaugurates the modern concept of freedom of expression, the speech that the famous republican poet John Milton addressed the Parliament of England during the Puritan Revolution in defense of the freedom of English press with the unusual title of Areopagitica, reached significant influence to the another side of the Atlantic in the colonial and revolutionary American ideology, being a source of inspiration for the first writings that crossed the colonies against restrictive regulation of seditious libel in force in the common law, as reflected in newspaper articles from Benjamin Franklin, the writings of James Alexander and Andrew Hamilton’s defense in the Zenger Case, as well as for the writings of those who illustrated the Revolution, specially for the sermons of protestant pastor Jonathan Mayew, and, more significantly, for the writings of the founding father of American independence, Thomas Jefferson, considerably influenced by the impact that were taking the principles of the Areopagitica in revolutionary France, thus reflecting the presence and influence of John Milton’s Areopagitica in the two Atlantic Revolutions.

 

Fecha de envío / Submission Date: 06/12/2011

Fecha de aceptación / Acceptance Date: 17/02/2012

Author Biography

María Nieves Saldaña Díaz, Universidad de Huelva

Doctora en Derecho. Responsable del Área de Derecho Constitucional en la Universidad de Huelva, España. Ha ampliado estudios en la Universidad de Harvard y se ha especializado en la historia de la libertad de expresión y el Derecho Constitucional comparado. Entre sus textos más relevantes destacan: “El derecho a la privacidad en los Estados Unidos: Aproximación diacrónica a los intereses constitucionales en juego” (Teoría y Realidad Constitucional, Nº 128, 2011); “Libertad de prensa y energía política en la Areopagítica de John Milton” (Revista Internacional de Pensamiento Político, Nº 3, 2008); “La protección de la privacidad en la sociedad tecnológica: el derecho constitucional a la privacidad de la información personal en los Estados Unidos”, (Araucaria. Revista Iberoamericana de Filosofía, Política y Humanidades, Nº 18, 2007); "La gestación de la Primera Enmienda: "Founding period" y "Original meaning" (Historia constitucional, Nº. 7, 2006); "A Legacy of Suppression: Del control de la

Downloads

Issue

No. 13 (2012): Historia Constitucional N. 13 (2012)

Section

United States and Italy

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
  4. Journal can use the published works for future publications.
  5. Authors must inform the journal of later publications of their text.