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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 .
In 1733, the only newspaper in New York was the New-York Gazette, and its printer, William Bradford, was a supporter of then New York Governor, William Cosby.The Popular Party wanted to attack Governor Cosby, and the only other printer in New York was John Peter Zenger, who had come from Germany to America in 1697, went to New York in 1711, and worked with Bradford for eight years before he ...
In one of the most famous cases, New York City publisher John Peter Zenger was imprisoned for eight months in 1734 for printing attacks on the governor of the colony. Zenger won his case and was acquitted by jury in 1735 under the counsel of Andrew Hamilton.
The most dramatic confrontation came in New York in 1734, where the governor brought John Peter Zenger to trial for criminal libel after the publication of satirical attacks. The jury acquitted Zenger, who became the iconic American hero for freedom of the press. The result was an emerging tension between the media and the government.
It was founded in 1733 by John Peter Zenger, a German immigrant. Its mordant editorials were mainly written by socially notorious people, Morrisites like James Alexander, who published anonymously. Its most controversial editorials were about: Morris's deposition; Cosby's attempt to rig the 1734 elections
The printer of that paper was Bradford's former apprentice John Peter Zenger, who the governor sued for libel, but was acquitted at trial. This was a critical incident in the development of the American conception of the freedom of the press.
English: Title: Andrew Hamilton defending John Peter Zenger in court, 1734-5 Abstract/medium: 1 print : wood engraving. Date: 1877: Source: Library of Congress
In 1735, John Peter Zenger, an American newspaper publisher, was arrested for committing libel against the British royal governor and was imprisoned and tried there. [9] [10] His acquittal on the grounds that the material he had printed was true established freedom of the press as it was later defined in the Bill of Rights. [9] [13]