Alexander Meiklejohn (; 3 February 1872 – 17 December 1964) was an English-born American philosopher, university administrator, educational reformer, and free-speech advocate, best known as president of Amherst College.

Background

Alexander Meiklejohn was born on 3 February 1872, in Newbold Street, Rochdale, Lancashire, England. He was of Scottish descent, and the youngest of eight sons. When he was eight, the family moved to the United States, settling in Rhode Island. Family members pooled their money to send him to school. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees at Brown University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and completed his doctorate in philosophy at Cornell in 1897. At Brown, he was a member of Theta Delta Chi. From 1912 to 1923, Meiklejohn served as president of Amherst College. He was a cofounder of the School of Social Studies in San Francisco, founded an institute to advance human rights and peace law through legal research, education, and advocacy, and named it Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute (MCLI), with Meiklejohn's permission. In 1945, Meiklejohn was a U.S. delegate to the founding meeting of UNESCO in London. He was a notable proponent of the link between freedom of speech and democracy. He argued that the concept of democracy is that of self-government by the people. For such a system to work an informed electorate is necessary. To be appropriately knowledgeable, there must be no constraints on the free flow of information and ideas. According to Meiklejohn, democracy will not be true to its essential ideal if those in power are able to manipulate the electorate by withholding information and stifling criticism. Meiklejohn acknowledges that the desire to manipulate opinion can stem from the motive of seeking to benefit society. However, he argues, choosing manipulation negates, in its means, the democratic ideal. Eric Barendt has called the defense of free speech on the grounds of democracy "probably the most attractive and certainly the most fashionable free speech theory in modern Western democracies".

Awards

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) established the Alexander Meiklejohn Freedom Award to honor his work. The University of Wisconsin–Madison's Meiklejohn House (home to the Integrated Liberal Studies program) continues to espouse the ideals of Meiklejohn's experimental college by engaging students in interdisciplinary liberal education. The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, was deeply influenced by Meiklejohn's pedagogical philosophy during its founding and maintains many of his central principles today. Meiklejohn Fellows Program at Amherst College is a unique program reserved for first-generation and/or low-income students. The program provides dedicated advising, programming, peer-to-peer support, and summer internship funding.

Books

Meiklejohn wrote books from 1920 to 1960:

  • The Liberal College, 1920
  • Freedom and the College, 1923
  • The Experimental College, 1932
  • What Does America Mean?, 1935
  • Education Between Two Worlds, 1942
  • Free Speech and Its Relation to Self-Government, 1948
  • Political Freedom: the Constitutional Powers of the People, 1960

See also

  • Meiklejohnian absolutism
  • John William Ward

Notes

References

  • Cynthia Stokes Brown, Alexander Meiklejohn: Teacher of Freedom, MCLI, 1981.
  • Ronald K.L. Collins & Sam Chalatin, We Must Not Be Afraid to Be Free: Stories of Free Expression in America (Oxford U. Press, 2011), pp. 39–58.
  • Randal Marlin, Propaganda and the Ethics of Persuasion (2nd ed.) (Broadview Press, 2013). .
  • Adam R. Nelson, Education and Democracy: The Meaning of Alexander Meiklejohn, 1872-1964 (University of Wisconsin Press, 2001).
  • Eugene H. Perry, A Socrates for all Seasons: Alexander Meiklejohn and Deliberative Democracy (Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse Press, 2011).
  • Alexander Meiklejohn, Philosopher, Dean, Advocate of Free Speech at Brown University
  • Alexander Meiklejohn and the Experimental College at UW-Madison Libraries
  • Alexander Meiklejohn Papers, News Clippings Concerning the Resignation of President Alexander Meiklejohn, Amherst College Board of Trustees Materials Concerning President Alexander Meiklejohn from the Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
  • Full texts online
  • The Liberal College
  • The Experimental College
  • Free Speech and Its Relation to Self-Government
  • Meiklejohn Advising at Brown University
  • Remembering Alexander Meiklejohn a tribute by former student Joseph Tussman
  • Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute
  • The Evergreen State College
  • Meiklejohn Fellows Program