The Origins of Free Speech

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The origins of free speech can be traced back to sixteenth century England and the reign of Henry VII. Due to the ascension of the printing press and the proliferation of ideology contrary to the crown, Henry established laws against seditious libel, the criticism of English government or government officials. To enforce these laws, Henry created three administrative branches -- privy counsel, stationers company and star chamber. The privy counsel was in charge of licensing. In order to publish, one first had to be cleared by the privy counsel. The stationers company kept a census of all English publication. This surveillance group recorded such information as the target audience and political agenda of publishers and authors. The final branch, known as the star chamber, was the court where seditious libel cases were tried.

Henry’s system of censorship soon became corrupt and unjust as publishers were not only refused licenses because of petty aristocratic concerns but often were convicted of seditious libel after being licensed due to a change in policy. In one case,...

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