The Government's Need for Secrecy vs. The People's Right to Know

Authors

Nick Kotz

Abstract

When defending our importance to the country, we in the press are fond of quoting Thomas Jefferson: "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I would not hesitate a moment to choose the latter." But only on the rarest occasion do we acknowledge that the father of the Constitution, the sage of Monticello, also said of us: "I do not take a single newspaper, nor read one a month, and I feel myself infinitely happier for it."

Recommended Citation

Kotz, Nick (1984) "The Government's Need for Secrecy vs. The People's Right to Know," Naval War College Review: Vol. 37: No. 3, Article 6.
Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol37/iss3/6