James Madison and Freedom of Speech

In this book, Juhani Rudanko sheds important new light on James Madison's contributions to the debates on freedom of speech, during the formative period of 1789 to 1801 in the United States. When Madison proposed amendments that eventually formed the core of the Bill of Rights (June 8, 1789), the reaction from the Federalist party majority was initially hostile. Rudanko examines Madison's patterns of argumentation in eventually persuading the House of Representatives to proceed with consideration of the Bill of Rights. The book also presents new insights on key debates of the Sedition Act, examining initial Federalist arguments when the Act was approved, July 1798, and identifies changes in those arguments soon afterwards.