A brief period of internal peace ended with the arrival in 1732 of the new governor William …show more content…
Andrew Hamilton of Philadelphia stepped up to defend Zenger. Hamilton admitted that Zenger printed the charges and demanded the prosecution to prove them false. The judge told the jury to convict Zenger if they believed he printed the stories. Thy returned with the verdict of not guilty. Zenger and Hamilton were hailed as hero’s.
Another building block of liberty was in place. Although freedom of press wasn’t known until the first amendment, newspaper publishers felt free to print their honest view. John Peter Zenger American printer, was selected to print a weekly newspaper by a group of men opposed to a governor of New York. Zenger was charged with libel and acquitted. The case has forever associated his name with the cause of freedom of speech and of the press in America. Zenger’s case established freedom of press before the first amendment was established. He gave publishers the courage to print freely. Zenger is known throughout history for his act of