Liberalism was forged in an effort to safeguard the achievements of the French Revolution and to protect them from the forces of extremism, whether from the right or the left, above or below. In 1795, when Constant and Madame de Staël arrived in Paris, “liberal principles” meant defending the republican government in place from counterrevolution. They meant supporting the rule of law and civil equality, constitutional and representative government, and a number of rights, primary among which were freedom of the press and freedom of religion. Beyond that, what liberal principles meant was
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