This article will focus upon the life and work of Johan Hendrik Swildens, who is widely recognized in the literature as one of the foremost spokesmen of the category of "public educators" who played a significant role in the dissemination of specific interpretations of 'constitutional enlightenment' that were endorsed by specific factions within the Patriot movement during the 1780s and 1790s. The purpose of this article is to provide a description and analysis of Swildens's early life as a student, his travels to Russia and Germany, his career as a freelance publicist, his activities in the sphere of popular education, together with a discussion of his publications on popular education and constitutional enlightenment. The focal point of the research reported here is based on an analysis of his numerous publications with reference to the issue of constitutional enlightenment for the "common people" within the Patriot public sphere. In conclusion, this article will seek to assess Swildens's contribution to popular constitutional enlightenment, and to interpret his position within the broader coalition of forces in the Patriot movement in the United Provinces. Of some importance will be the examination of his role as a representative of a new category of 'popular intellectuals' who voiced the message of popular enlightenment in many European countries in this period of patriotic and democratic movements.