This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (May 2007)

This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies.

John Peter Zenger (October 26, 1697 – July 28, 1746) was a German-born American printer, publisher, editor and journalist in New York City. His indictment, trial and acquittal on sedition and libel charges against the Governor William Cosby of the New York Colony in 1735^[1] were important contributing factors to the development of freedom of the press in America. The Zenger decision helped clarify the beliefs of early Colonial life and lay the groundwork for the responsibilities of both media and government in a functioning democracy. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events September 11 - Battle of Zenta, Prince Eugene of Savoy crushed Ottoman army of Mustafa II September 20 - The Treaty of Ryswick December 2 – St Pauls Cathedral opened in London Peter the Great travels in Europe officially incognito as artilleryman Pjotr Mikhailov Use of palanquins increases in Europe Christopher... is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events Catharine de Ricci (born 1522) canonized. ... The word printer is used to describe a company that provides commercial printing services, involving typesetting, printing and book-binding. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Editing is the process of preparing language, images, or sound for presentation through correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications. ... For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Sedition is a term of law which refers to covert conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority as tending toward insurrection against the established order. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... William Cosby (1690 - Stradbally Hall,,Queens,Ireland - March 10, 1736 at Fort George, New York) was colonial governor of New York from 1732 to 1736. ... A map of the Province of New York. ... Events April 16 - The London premiere of Alcina by George Frideric Handel, his first the first Italian opera for the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. ... Freedom of the Press (or Press Freedom) is the guarantee by a government of free public press for its citizens and their associations, extended to members of news gathering organizations, and their published reporting. ...

Overview

John Peter Zenger was born in 1697 in Germany, and migrated to New York as a child in 1710. His father died during the journey and his mother raised the children alone. He was accepted as an apprentice to New York's only printer, William Bradford, until 1718. Zenger married in 1719 but his wife died soon after, leaving him with an infant son. He married again in 1722 and fathered five more children. Zenger and Bradford became partners in 1725 until Zenger started his own shop the next year. In 1733, former New York Attorney General, James Alexander, gave Zenger the opportunity to print America's first party newspaper, the New York Weekly Journal. William Bradford (May 20, 1663- May 23, 1752) was an early British printer in North America, and the head of a family that included leading publishers for 140 years. ... James Alexander (c. ...

Zenger's paper was doing quite well until he criticized William Cosby, Governor of New York, and the governor had him jailed. Zenger claimed in his apology that even though he was in jail without supplies, he could still publish his paper through a hole in the door with the help of his wife and servants. It is unclear just how seriously Zenger personally took the material published in the New York Weekly Journal. It was almost certainly financed by one of the opposition political factions in New York politics, possibly by James Alexander who, along with William Smith was disbarred for objecting to the two-man court William Cosby had hand-picked. Zenger was most likely a convenient target to use in an attempt to end criticism. His trial may have resulted in the addition of the expression "Philadelphia lawyer" to the language^[2]. His defense attorney, Andrew Hamilton, was from Philadelphia, and won a case most local attorneys were confident would be unwinnable, and over which prior attorneys had been disbarred. William Cosby (1690 - Stradbally Hall,,Queens,Ireland - March 10, 1736 at Fort George, New York) was colonial governor of New York from 1732 to 1736. ... James Alexander may be: // James Alexander, 1st Earl of Caledon (1730-1802) James Alexander, 3rd Earl of Caledon (1812-1855) James Alexander, 4th Earl of Caledon (1846-1898) James Alexander (lawyer) (c. ... William Smith (June 25, 1728 – November 3, 1793) was a lawyer, historian, speaker, loyalist, and eventually Chief Justice of the Province of New York from 1763 to 1782 and Chief Justice of Canada from 1786 until his death. ... William Cosby (1690 - Stradbally Hall,,Queens,Ireland - March 10, 1736 at Fort George, New York) was colonial governor of New York from 1732 to 1736. ... This page is about a famous lawyer; see Andrew Hamilton (disambiguation) for other meanings. ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ...

A notable part of the case is that Andrew Hamilton challenged the legality of the crimes for which his client was being prosecuted. It was one of the first times in American history in which a lawyer challenged the laws rather than the innocence of his clients. The jurors were stunned and didn't know how to, or even if they were allowed to, address whether the law itself was "legal."

At the end of the trial on August 5, 1735, the twelve New York jurors returned a verdict of "guilty" on the charge of publishing "seditious libels," despite the Governor's hand-picked judges presiding. Hamilton had successfully argued that Zenger's articles were not libelous because they were based on fact. Zenger published a verbatim account of the trial as A Brief Narrative of the Case and Trial of John Peter Zenger (1736). “No nation, ancient or modern, ever lost the liberty of speaking freely, writing, or publishing their sentiments, but forthwith lost their liberty in general and became slaves" is a quote by John Peter Zenger. Hamilton had worked for free. In gratitude for what he had done the Common Council of New York awarded Hamilton the freedom of that city and a group of prominent residents contributed to the production of a 5½-ounce gold box that was presented to Hamilton as a lasting mark of their gratitude to him. The box was preserved as a family heirloom for many years and is now in the custody of the Atwater Kent Museum near Independence Hall, Philadelphia. Each year the Philadelphia Bar Association presents a replica of that box to the outgoing Chancellor of the Association. A Latin motto inscribed on the box, identical to one on the original, has the English translation “Acquired not by money, but by character.” is the 217th day of the year (218th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events April 16 - The London premiere of Alcina by George Frideric Handel, his first the first Italian opera for the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. ... For the trade organisation, see Federation Against Copyright Theft. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... The entrance to the Atwater Kent Museum Philadelphias city history museum, the Atwater Kent Museum (also known as the Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia) was created in 1938 when Philadelphia Mayor S. Davis Wilson and Frances Wistar, president of the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks, convinced inventor... Independence Hall is a U.S. national landmark located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th Streets. ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ...

John Peter Zenger died in 1746 at 48 years old.as a dum head. // Events Catharine de Ricci (born 1522) canonized. ...

Notes

Publications

• 1-9A Criminal Defense Techniques § 9A.02, FN3 (note his name is misspelled as John Paul Zenger, although from context it is clear the publication was referring to John Peter).
• Livingston Rutherfurd, John Peter Zenger (New York, 1904)
• M. Van Gerpen, Privileged Communication and the Press, 5-6 (1979)

External links

• [3]
• Zenger Trial
• John Peter Zenger
• The Crown v. Zenger
• Considering Zenger: Partisan Politics and the Legal Profession in Provincial New York