LAD #2: John Peter Zenger

1. Who was John Peter Zenger?

•  John Peter Zenger was a German immigrant who printed The New York Weekly Journal. He worked with James Alexander (the editor) and William Smith on the newspaper.

      2. What was the controversy over his charges? Talk about Hamilton's defense.

•  The controversy over Zenger's trials was whether or not to consider the statements that Zenger made for the jury's decision. The royal chief justice thought that the jury should not consider the truthfulness/falseness of Zenger's publications, that the idea of Zenger printing regardless of the truth was enough to convict him. Hamilton argued that this decision defined the freedom that people may/may not receive to defy and expose a higher power, in this case the Governor Cosby. Jurors voted not guilty.

      3. What influence did his case have on American governmental tradition?

• The verdict of this trial greatly influenced American governmental tradition. Nowadays people can write whatever their hearts' desire in the paper without the fear of being tossed into jail. It is clearly defined in our rights in the First Amendment.

4. What is the lasting significance of his trial? Explain.

• Zenger's trial has had an everlasting significance on lives. Besides the mentioned above, of the Freedom of Press; newspapers have helped during the American Revolution being a rallying force to British rule. The verdict helped establish that true statements about public officials that were full of criticisms were free to be published and no one could be prosecuted as libel, honest but unfair/ unwanted criticisms that may harm one's reputation.