On April 30, 1811, Thomas Jefferson wrote to William Duane from Monticello about political compromise and the role of journalists in the political process:
“I thin an Editor [of a newspaper] should be independent, that is, of personal influence, & should not be moved from his opinions on the mere authority of any individual. But, with respect to the general opinion of the political section with which he habitually accords, his duty seems very like that of a member of Congress. Some of these indeed think that independence requires them to follow always their own opinion, without respect for that of others. This has never been my opinion, nor my practice, when I have been of that, or any other body. Differing, on a particular question, from those whom I knew to be of the same political principles with myself, and with whom I generally thought & acted, a consciousness of the fallibility of the human mind, & my own in particular, with a respect for the accumulated judgment of my friends, has induced me to suspect erroneous impressions on myself, to suppose my own opinion wrong, & to act with them on theirs.”
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