LAD #2:

1.  Who was John Peter Zenger?
A:  John Peter Zenger was a German immigrant who moved to New York City in 1710.  There he fell into an apprenticeship under the New York Gazette's printer, William Bradford.  Later, he left his job at the Gazette to become the official publisher and editor of a magazine, the New York Weekly Journal, that disagreed with the beliefs of New York Governor William S. Cosby.  Cosby had prosecuted the Interim Governor Rip Van Dam and had removed Chief Justice Lewis Morris from office in favor of the royalist James Delancey.  The writers of the journal were cynical and criticized all of Cosby's decisions.

2.  What was the controversy over his charges? Talk about Hamilton's defense.
A: The main controversy stemmed from the two branches of Zenger knowingly publishing offensive stories about the present governor against the fact that the stories he published happened to be true.  One of Zenger's published stories involved Cosby both rigging the elections for governor, and giving the French free reign to explore the New York harbor.  Not only did this hurt his political image, but his sanity as well.  The fact that he allowed the 'enemy' French to freely observe the harbor basically label him as an idiot.  With the law denying any written opposition to the government, Zenger was immediately thrown in jail.  However, when the trial came around the jury found Zenger innocent on all charges.  They believed that the truth of the published statements out-weighed any illegality involved.  His defense attorney, Alexander Hamilton was able to win the jury over with the statement that Zenger's actions were "the cause of liberty."

3.  What influence did his case have on American governmental tradition?
A:  Zenger's case showed the significance of a jury in court cases (that the jury had the final say in a court case, not the judge).  Even though the highly prized Chief Justice James Delancey believed Zenger to be guilty (although his decision most definitely was based of his connections and relationship with Crosby), that was not the final say.  Delancey's beliefs were thrown aside by the jury and they announced Zenger's complete innocence and acquittal. Despite the judge's demands for conviction due to Libel, which Zenger openly admitted, the jury decided in under ten minutes that he was not guilty. Zenger's case proved to the colonies that the power in the court room did not reside in the sole power of the judge, the people of the jury had a majority of the say in the verdict of a trial.

4.  What is the lasting significance of his trial? Explain.
A:  Not only did Zenger's trial help push America towards the validation of the absolute truth in America in the courtroom, but in the press as well.  Although his freedom was not officially stated until the creation of the First Amendment, the case gave newspapers, editors, and publishers a sense of security and safeness.  It gave them the belief that they were no longer subjugated to limited freedom, when it came to writing; they were enabled the chance to write their opinions with no belief of consequence.  This sense of security became more and more prevalent and helpful to the colonists as the American Revolution drew nearer.  With the confidence of the press to print the truth no matter what, not only did a surge for Democracy rise, but shots against corrupt government officials and policies as well. Most importantly though, the trial's result increased the people's claim to liberty as publishers began to unfold the true corruptness of the government that they were ruled under.