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In his new book, The Free and Open Press : The Founding of American Democratic Press, (NYU Press) Robert W. T. Martin, visiting assistant professor of government at Hamilton College, provides a careful, new analysis of press liberty. He explores free press issues beginning in the 17th century and continuing up to current "hate speech" and pornography discussions. Though much has been written about press liberty, scholars have largely ignored the development of the concept of political press freedom. Martin gives insight to American politics and free press. He argues that, "Free speech is crucial to American democracy…it is fundamental to our very way of thinking about politics; increasingly significant matters of public (and even private) affairs become disputes over freedom of expression."

The debate over the "free and open press" and the tensions within our political tradition have received little attention although they were major issues for the composers of our constitution. Martin quotes such men as James Madison in exploring the genesis of American concepts of freedom of speech. He writes, "the tensions they reveal are central and long-standing features of the American free speech tradition. In contemporary jurisprudence, this debate over competing priorities is seen in the differences between those who regard individual liberty as the central value of the First Amendment and those who contend that democratic self-government is paramount. "

Martin teaches political theory, and his interests include American political thought, democratic theory, early modern political thought, philosophy of social science, and constitutional law.  His work has appeared in History of Political Thought and Political Research Quarterly. Recently, book reviews written by him appeared in the American Political Science Review and The Review of Politics. Researching early American theories of free speech, Martin was a summer fellow at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Ma., and a presenter at the Alexander Hamilton Conference held earlier this year. 

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