This article examines the development of the U.S. government's informing function during the antebellum period. Particular attention is paid to the ideology of Jacksonian democracy, as expressed through such prominent organs as the Democratic Review and through such representative thinkers as Jeremy Bentham, George Bancroft, and William Leggett. Examined are the ways in which the ideology of democracy not only shaped and contributed to, but also impeded the development of, the informing function of government.