John Peter Zenger: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|German printer and journalist (1697–1746)}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} |
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} |
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{{Infobox person |
{{Infobox person |
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| name |
| name = John Peter Zenger |
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| image = John Peter Zenger trial.jpg |
| image = John Peter Zenger trial.jpg |
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| alt = |
| alt = |
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| caption = Andrew Hamilton defending John Peter Zenger in court, |
| caption = Andrew Hamilton defending John Peter Zenger in court, 1734–1735 |
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| birth_name = |
| birth_name = |
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| birth_date = October 26, 1697 |
| birth_date = October 26, 1697 |
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| birth_place = [[Impflingen]], or [[Rumbach]]<br/>[[Palatinate (region)|Rhenish Palatinate]]<!--territory may fall either in [[Province of Alsace]], Kingdom of france, or [[Palatine Zweibrücken]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]--> |
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| birth_place = [[Rumbach]], [[Germany]] |
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| death_date = {{death-date and age|July 28, 1746|October 26, 1697}} |
| death_date = {{death-date and age|July 28, 1746|October 26, 1697}} |
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| death_place = [[New York City|New York]] |
| death_place = [[New York City|New York]], [[Province of New York]] |
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| citizenship = |
| citizenship = British |
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| other_names = |
| other_names = |
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| occupation = Newspaper writer |
| occupation = Newspaper writer |
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| years_active = 1720–1746 |
| years_active = 1720–1746 |
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| known_for = Zenger |
| known_for = Zenger trial |
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| notable_works = ''[[The New York Weekly Journal]]'' |
| notable_works = ''[[The New York Weekly Journal]]'' |
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}} |
}} |
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[[File:29-THE FAMOUS ZENGER TRIAL.jpg|thumb|The trial, as imagined by an illustrator in the 1883 book ''Wall Street in History'']] |
[[File:29-THE FAMOUS ZENGER TRIAL.jpg|thumb|The trial, as imagined by an illustrator in the 1883 book ''Wall Street in History'']] |
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'''John Peter Zenger '''(October 26, 1697 – July 28, 1746) was a |
'''John Peter Zenger '''(October 26, 1697 – July 28, 1746) was a German printer and journalist in [[New York City]]. Zenger printed ''[[The New York Weekly Journal]]''.<ref name=USH>{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/us/7c.asp|title=7c. The Trial of John Peter Zenger|website=US History|access-date=October 24, 2012}}</ref> He was accused of [[Defamation|libel]] in 1734 by [[William Cosby]], the royal governor of [[Province of New York|New York]], but the jury acquitted Zenger, who became a symbol for [[freedom of the press]].<ref>[[#olsen2000|Olsen, 2000]], pp. 223–245</ref> |
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In 1733, Zenger began printing ''[[The New York Weekly Journal]]'', which voiced opinions critical of the colonial governor, William Cosby.<ref name=early>{{cite web|url=http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/bookmarks/zenger/|title=Peter Zenger and Freedom of the Press|website=Early America|access-date=October 24, 2012}}</ref> On November 17, 1734, on Cosby's orders, the sheriff arrested Zenger. After a [[grand jury]] refused to indict him, the Attorney General Richard Bradley charged him with libel in August 1735.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://historyempire.com/zenger-trial/|title=Zenger Trial|website=History Empire|access-date=November 18, 2012}}</ref> Zenger's lawyers, [[Andrew Hamilton (lawyer)|Andrew Hamilton]] and [[William Smith (judge, born 1697)|William Smith, Sr.]], successfully argued that truth is a [[defense (legal)|defense]] against charges of [[libel]].<ref>{{cite news |author-link=Scott Horton (attorney)|last=Horton |first=Scott |date= 28 February 2011 |url=http://harpers.org/archive/2011/02/hbc-90008006 |title=The Obstinate Dr. Heicklen |work=Harper's Magazine }}</ref> |
In 1733, Zenger began printing ''[[The New York Weekly Journal]]'', which voiced opinions critical of the colonial governor, William Cosby.<ref name=early>{{cite web|url=http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/bookmarks/zenger/|title=Peter Zenger and Freedom of the Press|website=Early America|access-date=October 24, 2012}}</ref> On November 17, 1734, on Cosby's orders, the sheriff arrested Zenger. After a [[grand jury]] refused to indict him, the Attorney General Richard Bradley charged him with libel in August 1735.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://historyempire.com/zenger-trial/|title=Zenger Trial|website=History Empire|access-date=November 18, 2012}}</ref> Zenger's lawyers, [[Andrew Hamilton (lawyer)|Andrew Hamilton]] and [[William Smith (judge, born 1697)|William Smith, Sr.]], successfully argued that truth is a [[defense (legal)|defense]] against charges of [[libel]].<ref>{{cite news |author-link=Scott Horton (attorney)|last=Horton |first=Scott |date= 28 February 2011 |url=http://harpers.org/archive/2011/02/hbc-90008006 |title=The Obstinate Dr. Heicklen |work=Harper's Magazine }}</ref> |
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==Early life== |
==Early life== |
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Peter Zenger was born in 1697 |
Peter Zenger was born in 1697 in the [[Palatinate (region)|German Palatinate]]. Most of the details of his early life are obscure. He was the son of Nicolaus Eberhard Zenger and his wife Johanna. His father was a school teacher in [[Impflingen]] in 1701. The Zenger family had other children baptised in [[Rumbach]] in 1697 and in 1703<ref name=pfny>{{cite book |author-link=Henry Z Jones, Jr.|last=Jones |first=Henry Z Jr. |title=The Palatine Families of New York 1710 |location= Universal City, CA |date=1985|isbn=9780961388829}}</ref>{{rp|1202}} and in [[Waldfischbach]] in 1706.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Henry Z Jones, Jr.|last=Jones |first=Henry Z Jr. |title=More Palatine Families |location=Universal City CA |date=1991 |page=381|isbn=9780897253949}}</ref> The Zenger family immigrated to New York in 1710 as part of a large group of [[German Palatines]], and Nicolaus Zenger was one of those who died before settlement.{{r|pfny|page1=1123}} The governor of New York had agreed to provide apprenticeships for all the children of immigrants from the [[Palatinate (region)|Palatinate]], and John Peter was bound for eight years as an apprentice to [[William Bradford (Colonial printer)|William Bradford]], the first printer in New York.<ref name=imm>{{cite web |last=Keene |first=Ann T. |url=http://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=8 |title=John Peter Zenger |website=Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present |date=2013 |publisher=German Historical Institute}}</ref> By 1720, he was taking on printing work in [[Province of Maryland|Maryland]], though he returned to New York permanently by 1722.{{r|pfny|page1=1124}} After a brief partnership with Bradford in 1725, Zenger set up as a commercial printer on Smith Street in New York City.<ref>{{cite web |title=The New York Weekly Journal and the Arrest of John Peter Zenger |url=http://www.nps.gov/feha/historyculture/the-new-york-weekly-journal-and-the-arrest-of-john-peter-zenger.htm |website=Federal Hall |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref> |
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On 28 May 1719, Zenger married Mary White in the [[First Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia)|First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia]].<ref>Presbyterian Historical Society; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Church Registers; Book Title: Church Register 1701-1746; Accession Number: V MI46 P477rr v.1.</ref> On 24 August 1722, widower Zenger married [[Anna Catharina Zenger|Anna Catharina Maul]] in the Collegiate Church, New York.<ref>The Archives of the Reformed Church in America; New Brunswick, New Jersey; Collegiate Church, Ecclesiastical Records, Baptisms, Members, Marriages, 1639-1774.</ref> He was the father of many children by his second wife, six of whom survived.<ref>[https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=8 Keene, A. (2013, February 12). John Peter Zenger. Retrieved March 05, 2018]</ref> |
On 28 May 1719, Zenger married Mary White in the [[First Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia)|First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia]].<ref>Presbyterian Historical Society; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Church Registers; Book Title: Church Register 1701-1746; Accession Number: V MI46 P477rr v.1.</ref> On 24 August 1722, widower Zenger married [[Anna Catharina Zenger|Anna Catharina Maul]] in the Collegiate Church, New York.<ref>The Archives of the Reformed Church in America; New Brunswick, New Jersey; Collegiate Church, Ecclesiastical Records, Baptisms, Members, Marriages, 1639-1774.</ref> He was the father of many children by his second wife, six of whom survived.<ref>[https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=8 Keene, A. (2013, February 12). John Peter Zenger. Retrieved March 05, 2018]</ref> |
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==Libel case == |
==Libel case == |
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⚫ | |||
⚫ | In 1733, Zenger printed copies of newspapers in New York to voice his disagreement with the actions of the newly appointed colonial governor [[William Cosby]]. On his arrival in New York City, Cosby had plunged into a rancorous quarrel with the colony council over his salary, trying to recoup half of the salary of the previous acting governor [[Rip Van Dam]]. Unable to control the colony's supreme court, which had ruled against Cosby in the dispute, Cosby removed Chief Justice [[Lewis Morris (governor)|Lewis Morris]], replacing him with the royalist justice [[James DeLancey]].<ref>National Park Service. "Intrigue on the Village Green: The Election of 1733 at St. Paul's." [https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/intrigue-on-the-village-green-the-election-of-1733-at-st-paul-s.htm]</ref> Supported by members of the Popular Party, Zenger's ''[[The New York Weekly Journal|New-York Weekly Journal]]'' continued to publish articles critical of the royal governor. Finally, Cosby issued a [[proclamation]] condemning the newspaper's "divers scandalous, virulent, false and seditious reflections."<ref>Hudson, Frederic. (1873) [https://archive.org/details/journalisminunit00huds/page/82 <!-- quote="divers scandalous, virulent, false and seditious reflections". --> Journalism in the United States, from 1690-1872]. Forgotten Books. p. 82.</ref> |
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⚫ | Zenger was charged with [[libel]]. [[James Alexander (lawyer)|James Alexander]] was Zenger's first counsel, but the court found him in contempt and disbarred him, removing him from the case. After more than eight months in prison, Zenger went to trial, defended by the Philadelphia lawyer [[Andrew Hamilton (lawyer)|Andrew Hamilton]] and the New York lawyer [[William Smith (judge, born 1697)|William Smith, Sr.]] The case was now a ''[[cause célèbre]]'', with the public interest at fever-pitch. Rebuffed repeatedly by chief justice James DeLancey during the trial, Hamilton decided to plead his client's case directly to the jury. After the lawyers for both sides finished their arguments on August 5, 1735, the jury retired only to return in ten minutes with a verdict of not guilty,<ref>[[#pasley2003|Pasley, 2003]], pp. 30–31</ref><ref>[[#levy1960|Levy, 1960]], p. 43</ref><ref>[[#lawson1914|Lawson, 1914]], p. viii</ref> a famous example of [[Jury nullification in the United States#In practice|jury nullification]]. |
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⚫ | |||
⚫ | In 1733, Zenger printed copies of newspapers in New York to voice his disagreement with the actions of the newly appointed colonial governor [[William Cosby]]. On his arrival in New York City, Cosby had plunged into a rancorous quarrel with the council of the |
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⚫ | Zenger was charged with [[libel]]. [[James Alexander (lawyer)|James Alexander]] was Zenger's first counsel, but the court found him in contempt and disbarred him, removing him from the case. After more than eight months in prison, Zenger went to trial, defended by the Philadelphia lawyer [[Andrew Hamilton (lawyer)|Andrew Hamilton]] and the New York lawyer [[William Smith (judge, born 1697)|William Smith, Sr.]] The case was now a ''[[cause célèbre]]'', with public interest at fever-pitch. Rebuffed repeatedly by chief justice James DeLancey during the trial, Hamilton decided to plead his client's case directly to the jury. After the lawyers for both sides finished their arguments on August 5, 1735, the jury retired only to return in ten minutes with a verdict of not guilty |
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In defending Zenger in this landmark case, Hamilton and Smith attempted to establish the precedent that a statement, even if defamatory, is not libelous if it can be proved, thus affirming [[freedom of the press]] in America; however, succeeding royal governors clamped down on freedom of the press until the [[American Revolution]]. This case is the groundwork of freedom of the press, not its legal precedent.<ref name=early/> As late as 1804, the journalist [[Harry Croswell]] lost a series of prosecutions and appeals because truth was ''not'' a defense against libel, as decided by the [[New York Supreme Court]] in ''[[People v. Croswell]]''. It was only the following year that the assembly, reacting to this verdict, passed a law that allowed truth as a defense against a charge of libel.<ref>[[#levy1960|Levy, 1960]], p. 38</ref> |
In defending Zenger in this landmark case, Hamilton and Smith attempted to establish the precedent that a statement, even if defamatory, is not libelous if it can be proved, thus affirming [[freedom of the press]] in America; however, succeeding royal governors clamped down on freedom of the press until the [[American Revolution]]. This case is the groundwork of freedom of the press, not its legal precedent.<ref name=early/> As late as 1804, the journalist [[Harry Croswell]] lost a series of prosecutions and appeals because truth was ''not'' a defense against libel, as decided by the [[New York Supreme Court]] in ''[[People v. Croswell]]''. It was only the following year that the assembly, reacting to this verdict, passed a law that allowed truth as a defense against a charge of libel.<ref>[[#levy1960|Levy, 1960]], p. 38</ref> |
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==Death== |
==Death== |
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Zenger died in New York on July 28, 1746, with his wife continuing his printing business.<ref name=imm/> |
Zenger died in New York on July 28, 1746, at the age of 48 years old with his wife continuing his printing business.<ref name=imm/> |
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==Legacy and honors== |
==Legacy and honors== |
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During World War II, the [[Liberty ship]] {{SS|Peter Zenger}} was named in his honor.<ref>{{cite book |last=Williams |first=Greg H. |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=A5oWBAAAQBAJ |title= The Liberty Ships of World War II: A Record of the 2,710 Vessels and Their Builders, Operators and Namesakes, with a History of the Jeremiah O'Brien |date= 25 July 2014 |publisher= McFarland |isbn= 978-1476617541 |access-date= 7 December 2017}}</ref> |
During World War II, the [[Liberty ship]] {{SS|Peter Zenger}} was named in his honor.<ref>{{cite book |last=Williams |first=Greg H. |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=A5oWBAAAQBAJ |title= The Liberty Ships of World War II: A Record of the 2,710 Vessels and Their Builders, Operators and Namesakes, with a History of the Jeremiah O'Brien |date= 25 July 2014 |publisher= McFarland |isbn= 978-1476617541 |access-date= 7 December 2017}}</ref> |
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''[[Zenger]]'' was a Madison, Wisconsin based [[Underground press|underground newspaper]] that operated during the late 20th century.<ref name="Report">{{cite web | url=http://druglibrary.net/olsen/NORML/QCHC/quad12.html | title=Hempsters demonstrate against the war on drugs | work=Rally Report | date=July 27, 1996 | author=Getman, James}}</ref><ref name="Temple">{{cite web | url=http://www.skeptictank.org/treasure/SUBGEN/HTOMC.029 | title=Zines and Things from the depths of the Sacred PO Box | work=Holy Temple of Mass Consumption News, Issue #29 | date=1995 }}</ref><ref name="TalkLeft">{{cite web | url=http://www.talkleft.com/story/2009/6/2/01033/72347/Diary/June-14-1978-FBI-and-anti-abortion-terrorism | title=June 14, 1978: FBI and anti-abortion terrorism | work=TalkLeft | date=June 1, 2009 | author=Masel, Ben}}</ref> |
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''[[Zenger]]'' was a Madison, Wisconsin based underground newspaper that operated during the late 20th century. |
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Zenger News is a [[news agency|wire service]] owned and operated by journalists.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.zenger.news/about-us/ |website=Zenger News |publisher=Z News Service, Inc. |access-date=February 19, 2023}}</ref> |
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A ten foot high limestone statue of John Peter Zenger is mounted on the brick wall of P.S. 18 in the Bronx in New York City. The sculpture was created by sculptor [[Joseph Kiselewski]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sculpture |url=https://www.kiselewskisculpture.com/ |access-date=2023-04-06 |website=Joseph Kiselewski |language=en}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[Freedom of the press]] |
* [[Freedom of the press]] |
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* [[Freedom of speech in the United States]] |
* [[Freedom of speech in the United States]] |
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* ''[[United States defamation law#People v. Croswell|People v. Croswell]]'' |
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* [[Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site]] |
* [[Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site]] |
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* ''[[The New York Weekly Journal]]'' |
* ''[[The New York Weekly Journal]]'' |
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==Bibliography== |
==Bibliography== |
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{{further| Bibliography of early American publishers and printers}} |
{{further| Bibliography of early American publishers and printers}} |
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* {{cite book | vauthors=((Burrows, E. G.)), ((Wellace, M.)) | year=1998 | title=Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 | publisher=Oxford University Press | chapter=Chapter 11: Recession, Revival, and Rebellion | isbn=978-0-19-511634-2}} |
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* Copeland, David. "The Zenger Trial." ''Media Studies Journal'' 14#2 (2000): |
* Copeland, David. "The Zenger Trial." ''Media Studies Journal'' 14#2 (2000): 2–7. |
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* Covert, Cathy. " |
* Covert, Cathy. "'Passion Is Ye Prevailing Motive': The Feud Behind the Zenger Case." ''Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly'' (1973) 50#1 pp: 3–10. |
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* Eldridge, Larry D. "Before Zenger: Truth and Seditious Speech in Colonial America, |
* Eldridge, Larry D. "Before Zenger: Truth and Seditious Speech in Colonial America, 1607–1700." ''American Journal of Legal History'' (1995): 337-358. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/845791 in JSTOR] |
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* {{cite book |last=Lawson |first=John Davidson |title=American state trials |volume= XVI|authorlink= |publisher=St. Louis : Thomas Law Books |year=1914 |url=https://archive.org/details/americanstatetri16laws |ref=lawson1914 }} |
* {{cite book |last=Lawson |first=John Davidson |title=American state trials |volume= XVI|authorlink= |publisher=St. Louis : Thomas Law Books |year=1914 |url=https://archive.org/details/americanstatetri16laws |ref=lawson1914 }} |
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* {{cite journal |last=Levy |first=Leonard W. |title=Did the Zenger Case Really Matter? Freedom of the Press in Colonial New York |journal=The William and Mary Quarterly |pages=35–50 |publisher=Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture |volume=17 |issue=1 |date=January 1960 |jstor=1943478 |doi= |ref=levy1960}} |
* {{cite journal |last=Levy |first=Leonard W. |title=Did the Zenger Case Really Matter? Freedom of the Press in Colonial New York |journal=The William and Mary Quarterly |pages=35–50 |publisher=Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture |volume=17 |issue=1 |date=January 1960 |jstor=1943478 |doi= 10.2307/1943478|ref=levy1960}} |
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* Levy, Leonard Williams, ed. ''Freedom of the press from Zenger to Jefferson: early American libertarian theories'' (Irvington Publishers, 1966) |
* Levy, Leonard Williams, ed. ''Freedom of the press from Zenger to Jefferson: early American libertarian theories'' (Irvington Publishers, 1966) |
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* {{cite journal |last=Olsen |first=Alison |title=The Zenger Case Revisited: Satire, Sedition and Political Debate in Eighteenth Century America |pages=223–245 |journal=Early American Literature |volume=35 |issue=3 |doi=10.1353/eal.2000.0009 |s2cid=153329184 |publisher=University of Maryland |year=2000 |url= https://muse.jhu.edu/article/9684 |ref=olsen2000}} |
* {{cite journal |last=Olsen |first=Alison |title=The Zenger Case Revisited: Satire, Sedition and Political Debate in Eighteenth Century America |pages=223–245 |journal=Early American Literature |volume=35 |issue=3 |doi=10.1353/eal.2000.0009 |s2cid=153329184 |publisher=University of Maryland |year=2000 |url= https://muse.jhu.edu/article/9684 |ref=olsen2000}} |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
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* {{cite journal |last=Levy |first=Leonard W. |title=Did the Zenger Case Really Matter? Freedom of the Press in Colonial New York |journal=The William and Mary Quarterly |pages=35–60 |publisher=Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture |volume=17 |issue=1 |date=January 1960 |jstor=1943478 |doi= |ref=levy1960}} |
* {{cite journal |last=Levy |first=Leonard W. |title=Did the Zenger Case Really Matter? Freedom of the Press in Colonial New York |journal=The William and Mary Quarterly |pages=35–60 |publisher=Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture |volume=17 |issue=1 |date=January 1960 |jstor=1943478 |doi= 10.2307/1943478|ref=levy1960}} |
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==Primary sources== |
==Primary sources== |
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*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041214225654/http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/Z/Zenger-J.html John Peter Zenger] |
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041214225654/http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/Z/Zenger-J.html John Peter Zenger] |
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*[https://history.nycourts.gov/case/crown-v-zenger/ ''The Crown v. Zenger''] |
*[https://history.nycourts.gov/case/crown-v-zenger/ ''The Crown v. Zenger''] |
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*[http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/publications/zenger.html ''Considering Zenger: Partisan Politics and the Legal Profession in Provincial New York''] |
*[http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/publications/zenger.html ''Considering Zenger: Partisan Politics and the Legal Profession in Provincial New York''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423042634/http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/publications/zenger.html |date=23 April 2020 }} |
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*[http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/bookmarks/zenger/ "Peter Zenger and Freedom of the Press | Early American Bookmarks"] |
*[http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/bookmarks/zenger/ "Peter Zenger and Freedom of the Press | Early American Bookmarks"] |
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*{{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Zenger, John Peter|year=1889 |short=x}} |
*{{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Zenger, John Peter|year=1889 |short=x}} |
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*{{OL author|31643A}} |
*{{OL author|31643A}} |
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*{{Find a Grave|1142}} |
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*{{gutenberg|no=54836|name=The Trial of Peter Zenger}} (1957 book, edited by Vincent Buranelli) |
*{{gutenberg|no=54836|name=The Trial of Peter Zenger}} (1957 book, edited by Vincent Buranelli) |
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[[Category:1746 deaths]] |
[[Category:1746 deaths]] |
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[[Category:18th-century American newspaper publishers (people)]] |
[[Category:18th-century American newspaper publishers (people)]] |
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[[Category:18th-century American |
[[Category:18th-century American journalists]] |
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[[Category:American male journalists]] |
[[Category:American male journalists]] |
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[[Category:Colonial American printers]] |
[[Category:Colonial American printers]] |
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[[Category:German Palatines]] |
[[Category:German Palatines]] |
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[[Category:People from Südliche Weinstraße]] |
[[Category:People from Südliche Weinstraße]] |
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[[Category:People |
[[Category:People from colonial New York]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Journalists from New York City]] |
Revision as of 04:02, 2 May 2024
John Peter Zenger | |
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![]() Andrew Hamilton defending John Peter Zenger in court, 1734–1735 | |
Born | October 26, 1697 |
Died | July 28, 1746 | (aged 48)
Citizenship | British |
Occupation | Newspaper writer |
Years active | 1720–1746 |
Known for | Zenger trial |
Notable work | The New York Weekly Journal |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/29-THE_FAMOUS_ZENGER_TRIAL.jpg/220px-29-THE_FAMOUS_ZENGER_TRIAL.jpg)
John Peter Zenger (October 26, 1697 – July 28, 1746) was a German printer and journalist in New York City. Zenger printed The New York Weekly Journal.[1] He was accused of libel in 1734 by William Cosby, the royal governor of New York, but the jury acquitted Zenger, who became a symbol for freedom of the press.[2]
In 1733, Zenger began printing The New York Weekly Journal, which voiced opinions critical of the colonial governor, William Cosby.[3] On November 17, 1734, on Cosby's orders, the sheriff arrested Zenger. After a grand jury refused to indict him, the Attorney General Richard Bradley charged him with libel in August 1735.[4] Zenger's lawyers, Andrew Hamilton and William Smith, Sr., successfully argued that truth is a defense against charges of libel.[5]
Early life
Peter Zenger was born in 1697 in the German Palatinate. Most of the details of his early life are obscure. He was the son of Nicolaus Eberhard Zenger and his wife Johanna. His father was a school teacher in Impflingen in 1701. The Zenger family had other children baptised in Rumbach in 1697 and in 1703[6]: 1202 and in Waldfischbach in 1706.[7] The Zenger family immigrated to New York in 1710 as part of a large group of German Palatines, and Nicolaus Zenger was one of those who died before settlement.[6]: 1123 The governor of New York had agreed to provide apprenticeships for all the children of immigrants from the Palatinate, and John Peter was bound for eight years as an apprentice to William Bradford, the first printer in New York.[8] By 1720, he was taking on printing work in Maryland, though he returned to New York permanently by 1722.[6]: 1124 After a brief partnership with Bradford in 1725, Zenger set up as a commercial printer on Smith Street in New York City.[9]
On 28 May 1719, Zenger married Mary White in the First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia.[10] On 24 August 1722, widower Zenger married Anna Catharina Maul in the Collegiate Church, New York.[11] He was the father of many children by his second wife, six of whom survived.[12]
Libel case
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/1733_NYWeeklyJournal_Jan7.png/220px-1733_NYWeeklyJournal_Jan7.png)
In 1733, Zenger printed copies of newspapers in New York to voice his disagreement with the actions of the newly appointed colonial governor William Cosby. On his arrival in New York City, Cosby had plunged into a rancorous quarrel with the colony council over his salary, trying to recoup half of the salary of the previous acting governor Rip Van Dam. Unable to control the colony's supreme court, which had ruled against Cosby in the dispute, Cosby removed Chief Justice Lewis Morris, replacing him with the royalist justice James DeLancey.[13] Supported by members of the Popular Party, Zenger's New-York Weekly Journal continued to publish articles critical of the royal governor. Finally, Cosby issued a proclamation condemning the newspaper's "divers scandalous, virulent, false and seditious reflections."[14]
Zenger was charged with libel. James Alexander was Zenger's first counsel, but the court found him in contempt and disbarred him, removing him from the case. After more than eight months in prison, Zenger went to trial, defended by the Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton and the New York lawyer William Smith, Sr. The case was now a cause célèbre, with the public interest at fever-pitch. Rebuffed repeatedly by chief justice James DeLancey during the trial, Hamilton decided to plead his client's case directly to the jury. After the lawyers for both sides finished their arguments on August 5, 1735, the jury retired only to return in ten minutes with a verdict of not guilty,[15][16][17] a famous example of jury nullification.
In defending Zenger in this landmark case, Hamilton and Smith attempted to establish the precedent that a statement, even if defamatory, is not libelous if it can be proved, thus affirming freedom of the press in America; however, succeeding royal governors clamped down on freedom of the press until the American Revolution. This case is the groundwork of freedom of the press, not its legal precedent.[3] As late as 1804, the journalist Harry Croswell lost a series of prosecutions and appeals because truth was not a defense against libel, as decided by the New York Supreme Court in People v. Croswell. It was only the following year that the assembly, reacting to this verdict, passed a law that allowed truth as a defense against a charge of libel.[18]
"Cato" article
In the February 25, 1733 issue of The New York Weekly Journal[19] is an opinion piece written under the pseudonym "Cato." This was a pen-name used by British writers John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, whose essays were published as Cato's Letters (1723). Jeffery A. Smith writes that "Cato" was "The leading luminary of the 18th century libertarian press theory...Editions of Cato's Letters were published and republished for decades in Britain and were immensely popular in America."[20] This article gave its readers a preview of the same argument attorneys Hamilton and Smith presented 18 months later in the government's libel case against Zenger — that truth is an absolute defense against libel. The words are reprinted from Cato's essay "Reflections Upon Libelling":
A libel is not less the libel for being true...But this doctrine only holds true as to private and personal failings; and it is quite otherwise when the crimes of men come to affect the publick…Machiavel says, Calumny is pernicious, but accusation beneficial, to a state; and he shews instances where states have suffered or perished for not having, or for neglecting, the power to accuse great men who were criminals, or thought to be so…surely it cannot be more pernicious to calumniate even good men, than not to be able to accuse ill ones.[21]
Death
Zenger died in New York on July 28, 1746, at the age of 48 years old with his wife continuing his printing business.[8]
Legacy and honors
During World War II, the Liberty ship SS Peter Zenger was named in his honor.[22]
Zenger was a Madison, Wisconsin based underground newspaper that operated during the late 20th century.[23][24][25]
Zenger News is a wire service owned and operated by journalists.[26]
A ten foot high limestone statue of John Peter Zenger is mounted on the brick wall of P.S. 18 in the Bronx in New York City. The sculpture was created by sculptor Joseph Kiselewski.[27]
See also
- Early American publishers and printers
- Areopagitica
- Federal Hall
- Freedom of the press
- Freedom of speech in the United States
- People v. Croswell
- Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site
- The New York Weekly Journal
Bibliography
- Burrows, E. G., Wellace, M. (1998). "Chapter 11: Recession, Revival, and Rebellion". Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-511634-2.
- Copeland, David. "The Zenger Trial." Media Studies Journal 14#2 (2000): 2–7.
- Covert, Cathy. "'Passion Is Ye Prevailing Motive': The Feud Behind the Zenger Case." Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly (1973) 50#1 pp: 3–10.
- Eldridge, Larry D. "Before Zenger: Truth and Seditious Speech in Colonial America, 1607–1700." American Journal of Legal History (1995): 337-358. in JSTOR
- Lawson, John Davidson (1914). American state trials. Vol. XVI. St. Louis : Thomas Law Books.
- Levy, Leonard W. (January 1960). "Did the Zenger Case Really Matter? Freedom of the Press in Colonial New York". The William and Mary Quarterly. 17 (1). Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture: 35–50. doi:10.2307/1943478. JSTOR 1943478.
- Levy, Leonard Williams, ed. Freedom of the press from Zenger to Jefferson: early American libertarian theories (Irvington Publishers, 1966)
- Olsen, Alison (2000). "The Zenger Case Revisited: Satire, Sedition and Political Debate in Eighteenth Century America". Early American Literature. 35 (3). University of Maryland: 223–245. doi:10.1353/eal.2000.0009. S2CID 153329184.
- Pasley, Jeffrey L. (2003). "The tyranny of printers" : newspaper politics in the early American republic. Charlottesville ; London : University Press of Virginia. ISBN 978-0-8139-21891.
Further reading
- Levy, Leonard W. (January 1960). "Did the Zenger Case Really Matter? Freedom of the Press in Colonial New York". The William and Mary Quarterly. 17 (1). Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture: 35–60. doi:10.2307/1943478. JSTOR 1943478.
Primary sources
- John Peter Zenger; his press, his trial, and a bibliography of Zenger imprints ... also a reprint of the first edition of the trial by Livingston Rutherfurd, New York : Dodd, Mead & company, 1904
- The tryal of John Peter Zenger, of New-York, printer, who was lately try'd and acquitted for printing and publishing a libel against the government: with the pleadings and arguments on both sides London : Printed for J. Wilford 1738
References
- ^ "7c. The Trial of John Peter Zenger". US History. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ Olsen, 2000, pp. 223–245
- ^ a b "Peter Zenger and Freedom of the Press". Early America. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ "Zenger Trial". History Empire. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ^ Horton, Scott (28 February 2011). "The Obstinate Dr. Heicklen". Harper's Magazine.
- ^ a b c Jones, Henry Z Jr. (1985). The Palatine Families of New York 1710. Universal City, CA. ISBN 9780961388829.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Jones, Henry Z Jr. (1991). More Palatine Families. Universal City CA. p. 381. ISBN 9780897253949.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b Keene, Ann T. (2013). "John Peter Zenger". Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present. German Historical Institute.
- ^ "The New York Weekly Journal and the Arrest of John Peter Zenger". Federal Hall. National Park Service.
- ^ Presbyterian Historical Society; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Church Registers; Book Title: Church Register 1701-1746; Accession Number: V MI46 P477rr v.1.
- ^ The Archives of the Reformed Church in America; New Brunswick, New Jersey; Collegiate Church, Ecclesiastical Records, Baptisms, Members, Marriages, 1639-1774.
- ^ Keene, A. (2013, February 12). John Peter Zenger. Retrieved March 05, 2018
- ^ National Park Service. "Intrigue on the Village Green: The Election of 1733 at St. Paul's." [1]
- ^ Hudson, Frederic. (1873) Journalism in the United States, from 1690-1872. Forgotten Books. p. 82.
- ^ Pasley, 2003, pp. 30–31
- ^ Levy, 1960, p. 43
- ^ Lawson, 1914, p. viii
- ^ Levy, 1960, p. 38
- ^ Although this issue of Zenger's newspaper is dated 1733, the actual year was 1734. At the time, Britain and the colonies used a calendar system wherein January, February and part of March retained the preceding year's date. This system was eliminated in the 1750s.
- ^ Smith, Jeffery (1990). Printers and Press Freedom: The Ideology of Early American Journalism. Oxford University Press. p. 25. ISBN 9780195362367.
- ^ Gordon, Thomas (10 June 1721). "Reflections Upon Libelling". Classical Liberals. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
- ^ Williams, Greg H. (25 July 2014). The Liberty Ships of World War II: A Record of the 2,710 Vessels and Their Builders, Operators and Namesakes, with a History of the Jeremiah O'Brien. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476617541. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
- ^ Getman, James (27 July 1996). "Hempsters demonstrate against the war on drugs". Rally Report.
- ^ "Zines and Things from the depths of the Sacred PO Box". Holy Temple of Mass Consumption News, Issue #29. 1995.
- ^ Masel, Ben (1 June 2009). "June 14, 1978: FBI and anti-abortion terrorism". TalkLeft.
- ^ "About Us". Zenger News. Z News Service, Inc. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ "Sculpture". Joseph Kiselewski. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- Historybuff.com First report of the trial
- Zenger Trial
- John Peter Zenger
- The Crown v. Zenger
- Considering Zenger: Partisan Politics and the Legal Profession in Provincial New York Archived 23 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- "Peter Zenger and Freedom of the Press | Early American Bookmarks"
- Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1889. .
- Works by John Peter Zenger at Open Library
- The Trial of Peter Zenger at Project Gutenberg (1957 book, edited by Vincent Buranelli)
- 1697 births
- 1746 deaths
- 18th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
- 18th-century American journalists
- American male journalists
- Colonial American printers
- German emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies
- German Palatines
- People from Südliche Weinstraße
- People from colonial New York
- Journalists from New York City