Zenger, << ZEHNG uhr, >> John Peter (1697-1746), gained the first major victory for freedom of the press in the American Colonies. Political opponents of British governor William Cosby established Zenger as printer of the New-York Weekly Journal in 1733. These opponents, including Lewis Morris, chief justice of New York, belonged to the Popular Party and used the Journal to oppose the Government Party. In 1734, when Cosby abruptly dismissed Morris from his office, the Journal criticized Cosby severely. Zenger shielded Cosby’s enemies by refusing to reveal who had written the critical articles.
Because they could find no one else to prosecute, the British arrested Zenger and tried him in 1735 for criminal libel. Zenger’s lawyers were disbarred, and he was left almost defenseless. Finally, Andrew Hamilton, a famous Philadelphia lawyer, came to New York to aid Zenger. Hamilton gave a powerful speech that persuaded the jury to find Zenger “not guilty” by arguing that Zenger had printed the truth, and that truth is not libelous. After the trial, Zenger published A Brief Narrative of the Case and Tryal of John Peter Zenger (1736).
Zenger was born in Germany on Oct. 26, 1697. He came to New York at the age of 13. He was apprenticed to a printer and set up his own printing shop in 1726. He died on July 28, 1746.
