There is a historical, built-in tension between the public’s right/need to know and
the desire of many governments to restrict access to government information. Curiously, the first Freedom of Information legislation in the United States was signed by President Lyndon Johnson, widely regarded as both an information miser and a keen practitioner of the knowledge-is-power school of thought throughout his government career.

In FOIA’s 41st anniversary year, this research paper examines the conditions that contributed to the 1966 passage of the original U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Much of the paper examines from several perspectives the period beginning with the creation of the U.S. House of Representatives Special Government Information Subcommittee in 1955 through the signing of the FOIA legislation by President Johnson on 4 July 1966. Primary government documents and contemporary press accounts comprise the bulk of the resources used.