LAD/Blog #2: Zenger Trial

[ above: a depiction of the trial ]

     
1. Who was John Peter Zenger?
John Peter Zenger was a German-American printer, publisher, editor, and journalist, who became the defendant of the titular trial after publishing criticism of the governor William Cosby in his paper, the New York Weekly Journal.

2. What was the controversy over his charges? Talk about Hamilton's defense.
Charged with seditious libel, Zenger was arrested and put on trial. During his trial, Hamilton argued that that a defamatory statement may be published, but not considered to be libelous if actually true, thus proving that if statements such as Zenger's were truthful, if highly critical -- which they were -- the truth behind them formed an absolute defense against such a charge as libel.

3. What influence did his case have on American governmental tradition?
Hamilton's successful defense is said to have provided a foundation for and affirmed American freedom of the press. It made it so that people could truthfully criticize others and the government without fear of punishment or retribution as Zenger faced.

4. What is the lasting significance of his trial? Explain.
America now values freedom of the press tremendously, in part because of this trial, which was a landmark case for freedom of the press. The great-grandson of Lewis Morris would much later write that the "trial of Zenger in 1735 was the germ of American freedom, the morning star of that liberty which subsequently revolutionized America."