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National Freedom of Information Day

When:
July 4, 2016 all-day
2016-07-04T00:00:00-05:00
2016-07-05T00:00:00-05:00

On March 16th 1751, in a nation that was heading towards a rebellion that would change the world forever, James Madison Jr. was born in Port Conway, Virginia. He was raised on a tobacco plantation with his 11 younger brothers and sisters, and inherited the plantation upon his fathers death. Showing the sort of fearless ambition and political savvy that would serve him well in the years to come, he then grew that plantation to 5000 acres, becoming the largest landowner in Orange County, Virginia, and one of the most important citizens of the area. He would later come to be known as “Father of the Constitution” for drafting the United States Constitution and the United States Bill of Rights, and was the loudest voice of the time for ensuring that the government of the newly formed nation held no secrets from the people it served.

History of Freedom of Information Day

Freedom of Information Day is dedicated to that very concept, with the Freedom of Information Act being enacted on July 4th, 1966 and coming into effect a year from that date. It declared that every person has the right to get information to federal agency records that are not protected by one of nine exemptions, or special law enforcement record exclusions. This put into law the very concepts that James Madison had held so dear, and ensured that the citizens of the United States were able to obtain that information to which they were entitled.

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