It is an interesting fact that the entire preceding history of the freedom of the press among English-speaking peoples played its part in the Zenger trial. The writings of Milton, Locke, Swift, Steele, Addison, and Defoe were all quoted to justify the freedom with which Zenger’s newspaper voiced its criticism of Governor Cosby and the way he governed.
This willful executive first attempted to have Zenger indicted by a grand jury, but the jury refused to act. Then he ordered Zenger’s paper to be burned by the public hangman, and it was duly burned, though not by the hangman. Finally the Governor secured the issue of a warrant for Zenger’s arrest and the printer was put in jail on a charge of seditious libel. Zenger’s journal missed a single issue. Then, thanks to his wife, it appeared every Monday while Zenger was in jail. Zenger’s wife, Anna Catherine, took over the print shop and saw that the paper was published. She didn’t write the contents any more than her husband, but she never complained that the printer’s family was suffering for others.
Nowadays it is a Constitutional right that “Excessive bail shall not be required,” but in Zenger’s day there was no such rule. His bail was so high that neither he nor his friends could meet it. The fact that he was put in jail also helped sway public opinion in Zenger’s favor.
The record of the Zenger trial as it is developed in this book is one of the notable case histories of American jurisprudence. Andrew Hamilton, Zenger’s able attorney, made such a case for his client that it attracted attention not only in the colonies but in England. New York voted him the freedom of the city.
Governor Cosby did not long survive the rebuke he suffered by Zenger’s acquittal. And here is a curious fact worth recalling: Andrew Hamilton, whose notable defense of Peter Zenger has become an imperishable part of the history of our free press, was also the architect of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The Hall still stands and so does the decision in the Zenger case, both symbolizing enduring monuments to freedom.
Contents
[Preface] iii [Foreword by H. V. Kaltenborn] v [Part One. Introduction] 1 [1. The Causes of the Trial] 3 [i. Peter Zenger] 3 [ii. A Colonial Feud] 5 [iii. Governor Cosby] 8 [iv. The Governor and His Enemies] 10 [v. The Administration Newspaper] 16 [vi. An Opposition Newspaper] 22 [vii. Freedom of the Press] 30 [viii. A Newspaper War] 32 [ix. Zenger Goes to Jail] 35 [x. Van Dam’s Indictment of the Governor] 40 [xi. Morris on the London Front] 44 [xii. Cosby’s Defeat] 47 [xiii. Andrew Hamilton] 49 [2. The Meaning of the Trial] 52 [3. The Text] 68 [Part Two. The Trial] 77 [1. Dramatis Personae] 79 [2. Preliminaries] 80 [3. Pleading] 93 [4. Aftermath] 133 [Appendix I: The New York Weekly Journal Covers an Election] 135 [Appendix II: Zenger’s Lawyers on the Behavior of His Judges] 139 [Appendix III: James Alexander on Freedom of the Press] 141 [Notes to the Introduction] 144 [Notes to the Text] 145 [Suggestions for Further Reading] 147 [Index] 151