• “John Peter Zenger arrived in New York from Germany in 1710 and served an apprenticeship to William Bradford, printer of the New York Gazette.”

http://www.historybuff.com/library/refzenger.html

http://www.loc.gov/rr/european/imde/germany.html

• “In 1733 New York Colonial Governor William Cosby stirred up a great controversy by prosecuting the interim Governor, Rip Van Dam, and removing Chief Justice Lewis Morris from the courts. After Governor Cosby adopted arbitrary measures against these men, and opposition group arose to fight him politically.

http://www.historybuff.com/library/refzenger.html

• “These wealthy and powerful men established an opposition newspaper, the New York Weekly Journal, and hired John Peter Zenger as the printer and editor.“

http://www.historybuff.com/library/refzenger.html

• “The Weekly Journal printed numerous articles critical of Governor Cosby until Cosby could take it no longer. In November, 1734, Cosby had Zenger arrested and put in jail incommunicado for ten months. “ http://

www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/bookmarks/zenger/

• Zenger went to trial defended by illustrious Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton. Hamilton decided to plead his client's case directly to the jury. After the arguments for both sides were finished, the jury was retired, only to return shortly with a verdict of not guilty.

• In successfully defending Zenger in this landmark case, Hamilton established the precedent that a statement, even if harmful, is not libelous if it can be proved, thus affirming freedom of the press in America

• http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/bookmarks/zenger/

http://www.historybuff.com/library/refzenger.html