Zenger, John Peter

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Zenger, John Peter

1697

Germany

July 28, 1746

Printer and journalist, pioneer of freedom of the press

" . . . They answered by Thomas Bunt, their Foreman, Not Guilty. Upon which there were three Huzzas in the hall which was crowded with people, and the next day I was discharged from my imprisonment."

From the account of John Peter Zenger's trial.

John Peter Zenger was a German-born printer and journalist who published the New-York Weekly Journal. The newspaper was a political forum for colonists who opposed the policies of New York governor William Cosby. Although Zenger did not write the articles he published, he was responsible for their content. Charged with libel (making a false statement that exposes another person to public contempt) in 1734, he was arrested and held in jail for ten months. After he finally went to trial his lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, won an acquittal (not-guilty verdict) that established the first victory for freedom of the press (the right of newspapers to print truthful information) in the American colonies.

Apprenticed to prominent printer

John Peter Zenger was born in Germany in 1697. At age thirteen he sailed to the New York colony with his parents, brother, and sister. His father (whose name is not known) died during the voyage, leaving Zenger's mother, Johanna, to care for the family. In 1711 Zenger went to work as an apprentice (one who learns an art or trade in exchange for doing work) with printing pioneer William Bradford (see box). When Zenger completed his apprenticeship in 1719 he married Mary White, who died a short time later. In 1720 he relocated to Chestertown, Maryland, where he was granted the authority to print the session laws (laws passed during official meetings) of the Maryland Assembly (legislative body). Within two years Zenger had returned to New York. In 1722 he married Anna Catherine Maulin, and the next year he became a freeman (one who has full rights of a citizen) of the city. After a brief partnership with Bradford, Zenger started his own business in 1726. Over the next seven years he printed mainly political and religious pamphlets, which were written in the Dutch language. In 1730 he printed Arithmetica by Peter Venema, the first arithmetic text published in New York.

William Bradford

In 1711 John Peter Zenger went to work as an apprentice for American printing pioneer William Bradford (1663–1752; not to be confused with William Bradford, founder of Plymouth, Massachusetts). Bradford began his career in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he started the first printing press as well as the first paper mill in the American colonies. Bradford was also the defendant in the first court case involving freedom of the press in the United States. In the early 1690s he was arrested for printing a pamphlet that was critical of the Quaker government in the Pennsylvania colony. Bradford was put on trial but no verdict was reached. The not-guilty verdict in the Zenger trial in 1735 is therefore considered the first significant victory for freedom of the press in America.

Prints controversial newspaper

The turning point in Zenger's life occurred in 1733, when he was appointed editor of the New-York Weekly Journal, a new political paper. Earlier, Cosby had angered New York residents by dismissing Lewis Morris as chief justice (principal judge of the colonial court) and replacing him with James De Lancey, a Cosby ally. The Journal was started by lawyers, merchants, and other citizens who thought Cosby had misused his powers as governor. New York was a royal colony—that is, it was controlled by the British monarchy, which appointed the governor. (Founded by Dutch proprietor Peter Stuyvesant [see entry] in 1645, New York was taken over by the English in 1664.) Staging a revolt, they organized the newspaper as a forum for their opinions. Upon taking the position with the Journal, Zenger found himself in opposition to his former mentor, Bradford, who published the progovernment New York Gazette, the first newspaper in New York.

Charged with libel

The first issue of the Journal appeared on November 5, 1733. Since Zenger had not fully mastered the English language, he did not write any major articles. Most of the pieces, which accused Cosby of governing without the will of the people, were probably written by the backers of the newspaper. Yet Zenger as publisher was responsible for every word. After the Journal had been running for nearly a year, the New York council (law-making body) decided to punish Zenger. They ordered the burning of four especially offensive issues of the Journal. Court officials refused to carry out the order, however, and the sheriff's African slave finally burned the papers. Zenger was arrested within a few days and his bail (payment for freedom from imprisonment before a trial) was set at four hundred pounds (a sum of British money), plus two hundred pounds in bail insurance. He could not raise the funds, so he was sent to prison. For several days he was held in isolation, then he spent almost ten months behind bars. During this time Anna Zenger published the newspaper each week, smuggling her husband's instructions out of the prison.

Andrew Hamilton

Andrew Hamilton (1676?–1741) was a prominent colonial American lawyer. Born in Scotland, he emigrated to Maryland, where he practiced law. He then moved to Pennsylvania, becoming attorney general in 1717. Hamilton was brought into the Zenger libel case in New York after all of Zenger's lawyers were disbarred by the administration of Governor William Cosby. As publisher of the antigovernment newspaper New-York Weekly Journal, Zenger had been jailed and charged with printing false statements about Cosby. Hamilton presented a brilliant defense of Zenger, winning a not-guilty verdict from the jury and thus establishing truth as a defense against charges of libel.

Freedom of press established

Zenger was brought to trial for criminal libel in April 1735. His attorneys immediately challenged the appointment of the politically powerful Chief Justice De Lancey, who was obviously loyal to Cosby, to preside over the trial. The Cosby administration then disbarred (expelled from the legal profession) Zenger's attorneys and the case was delayed until August. By this time Zenger was being represented by Andrew Hamilton, a Philadelphia attorney and the most prominent lawyer in the American colonies. Presenting the case for the New York

The trial of John Peter Zenger

In 1736 Andrew Hamilton wrote a word-for-word account of the trial (under Zenger's name) in which he was accused of publishing libelous statements against the governor of New York, William Cosby. The following excerpts from Zenger's report represent the views of the major figures in the trial: New York attorney general Richard Bradley argued the government's case against Zenger; Andrew Hamilton was the lawyer who successfully defended Zenger; and Chief Justice James De Lancey, the presiding judge and a Cosby ally, attempted to prevent jury members from reaching their own verdict.

Attorney General Bradley: . . . The case before the Court is, whether Mr. Zenger is guilty of libelling [making false statements about] his Excellency the Governor of New-York, and indeed the whole Administration of the Government. Mr. Hamilton has confessed the printing and publishing, and I think nothing is plainer, than that the words in the information are scandalous, and tend to sedition [inciting resistance to lawful authority] and to disquiet the minds of the people of this province. And if such papers are not libels, I think it may be said, there can be no such thing as a libel.
Mr. Hamilton: . . . the question before the court and you, gentlemen of the jury, is not of small nor private concern, it is not the cause of a poor printer, nor of New-York alone, which you are now trying; No! It may in its consequence, affect every freeman that lives under a British government on the main of America. It is the best cause. It is the cause of liberty; and I make no doubt but your upright conduct, this day, will not only entitle you to the love and esteem of your fellow-citizens; but every man, who prefers freedom to a life of slavery, will bless and honour you, as men who have baffled the attempt of tyranny [oppressive power]; and by an impartial and uncorrupt verdict, have laid a noble foundation for securing to ourselves, our posterity [all future generations], and our neighbours, that to which nature and the laws of our country have given us a right—the liberty—both of exposing and opposing arbitrary power (in these parts of the world, at least) by speaking and writing truth. . . .
Mr. Chief Justice: Gentlemen of the jury. The great pains Mr. Hamilton has taken, to show how little regard juries are to pay to the opinion of the judges; and his insisting so much upon the conduct of some judges in trials of this kind; is done, no doubt, with a design that you should take but very little notice of what I may say upon this occasion. I shall therefore only observe to you that, as the facts or words in the information are confessed: the only thing that can come in question before you is, whether the words, as set forth in the information, make a libel. And that is a matter of law, no doubt, and which you may leave to the court. . . .
Zenger : The Jury withdrew, and in a small time returned, and being asked by the clerk, whether they were agreed of their verdict, and whether John Peter Zenger was guilty of printing and publishing libels in the information mentioned? They answered by Thomas Bunt, their Foreman, Not Guilty. Upon which there were three Huzzas [shouts of acclaim] in the hall which was crowded with people, and the next day I was discharged from my imprisonment.

Reprinted in: Colbert, David, ed. Eyewitness to America.

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government was Richard Bradley, the attorney general (chief government law officer). In opening arguments at trial Hamilton pleaded that jury members were capable of deciding whether Zenger had printed truths or falsehoods, without guidance from presiding judge De Lancey. De Lancey denied this request, saying a judge is was more qualified to interpret the laws. Nevertheless, Hamilton proceeded to address his arguments directly to the jury.

When the time came to render the verdict, the jury ignored De Lancey's instructions. They concluded that Zenger's articles were based on fact, therefore finding him not guilty. The decision was cheered by spectators in the courtroom and later hailed by the general public. The verdict, which established the truth as a defense against libel charges, is considered the first significant victory for freedom of the press in America. The following year Zenger wrote a word-for-word account of the trial, which was published as A Brief Narrative of the Case and Tryal of John Peter Zenger (1736). His report was subsequently issued in several editions and generated considerable interest in the American colonies and in Britain.

In 1737 Zenger was appointed public printer for New York, and the next year he was awarded the same position in New Jersey. Although he had risen in his profession, he and his family continued to live in poverty. Zenger died in 1746, leaving his wife and six children. Anna Zenger published the Journal until December 1748. John Zenger, one of Zenger's sons from his first marriage, then managed the newspaper until it ceased publication in 1751.