Censorship of the Press

Think of what it was like to face torture or even execution for publishing something in a book or newspaper.  In the 15^th, 16^th and 17^th centuries, people put themselves in grave danger when they criticized the king, the government or the church. The charge of "seditious libel" for speaking or writing negative things about the government was considered treason and carried a death sentence. In the 18^th century, the writer could still be punished, but not so severely.

In addition to instilling fear in writers and publishers, the government used various other methods to prevent expression it didn't like. A person needed to get a government license to have a printing press or sell books.  There were also laws requiring material be approved before it was published – this is known as "prior review." 

Over time, prior review was abandoned, but publishers and writers still faced the danger of being punished for things they had printed or written.  This long history of censorship explains why freedom of expression was given such importance by the Founders.   If they could not criticize British rule and put forward ideas about independence, how could they have made their revolution?