Editor's note: Dec. 15 is the anniversary of the Bill of Rights.

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The 225th anniversary of the Bill of Rights, what its architect, James Madison, described as "the great rights of mankind," is an occasion worthy of celebration. Our nation is still widely believed to be committed to protecting the rights and liberties necessary to holding government accountable.

While Madison feared that the Bill of Rights — "mere parchment" — could not by itself preserve rights in the face of a determined governmental effort to undermine and deny them, he believed that an informed, educated citizenry might. Freedom of the press, Madison and his fellow founders believed, was central to that role.

Indeed, without information gathered and published by a constitutionally protected free press, the sovereign people would be unable to scrutinize governmental activities.

Freedom of the press, justly recognized as "the people’s right to know," has been critical to the republic enterprise of self-governance. In 1799, Madison wrote: "To the press alone, chequered as it is with abuses, the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity over error and oppression."

Press coverage of critical moments that have shaped American history — battlefield reports of wars since the Revolutionary War, the Pentagon Papers and Watergate, to mention but a few — have increased our knowledge and sharpened our abilities as citizens to evaluate government. It has affirmed the wisdom of Madison’s observation that a popular government "without information is but prologue to a farce or tragedy."

The establishment of the Bill of Rights, including protections for freedom of speech and freedom of the press, marked a high point in the courageous struggle to exalt the rule of law. But the Bill of Rights, like the Constitution as a whole, is not a self-executing machine. Historically, the enforcement of our magisterial rights and liberties often has been achieved by men and women of good faith who have refused to acquiescence in the face of governmental abuse of power.

It is for these fundamental principles of republican governance —an informed citizenry and a limited, transparent and accountable government—that Americans should be concerned about President-Elect Donald Trump’s circumvention and evasion of the press.

He has not held a press conference since July, which represents a departure from the custom of the victorious presidential candidate taking questions from the press on behalf of the American people. This retreat comes on the heels of his personal attacks on reporters during the campaign, his decision to deny the Washington Post access to his campaign, and his threats to change libel laws that have been critical to freedom of the press.

Some Trump supporters have been pleased by his attacks on the press and subsequent refusal to hold a press conference. Some of their glee, no doubt, stems from their view that the press has exhibited biases toward Trump.

As Madison pointed out 200 years ago, the press is not without warts, but that did not prevent him from championing the principle of a free press. And any present day errors in reporting and coverage ought not prevent Americans from seeking through their representatives in the media, answers to their questions about his plans and policies once he assumes office on January 20.

It remains important for citizens to air grievances about press coverage, and to recommend ways for better reporting, but we must not slight our own immediate and long-term interests in press access to the President-Elect. The way to facts, understanding and knowledge does not lie in the realm of darkness, but through the process of transparency.

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Adler is President of The Alturas Institute, a nonprofit created to advance civic education. His new book, "The War Power in an Age of Terrorism: Debating Presidential Power," will be published by Palgrave MacMillan this month.