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James Alexander, Zenger s Case, i.e., The Trial of John Peter Zenger, Of New-York, Printer [with] The Trial of Mr. William Owen, etc. London: J. Almon, 1765. The pages of this pre-American Revolution pamphlet are in good shape. The cover is missing, some pages have marginal notes written in pen and blank pages have extensive hand-written notes. One worm hole to pages 45-60 and one to pages 29-36, neither compromise one s ability to read the print, nor a small worm hole to the top of the front pages. The top of pages 3-4 is cut off causing 3 lines of print to be missing from page 4. The bottom of page 3 has an ink-stamp number (41556). The cover page at top is signed by Edward Lewin and at bottom is an ink-stamp date -- JAN 12 1924 . Fifty years on, Gouverneur Morris (1752-1816) wrote, The trial of Zenger in 1735 was the germ of American freedom, the morning star of that liberty which subsequently revolutionized America. In addition to cementing the importance of trial by jury in colonial America, Zenger s Case made the enactment of some version of the First Amendment inevitable. On November 17, 1734, printer John Peter Zenger was arrested on charges of seditious libel. His newspaper, the New York Weekly Journal was the voice of a group of colonists who opposed the policies of the colonial governor William Cosby. At the time, truth was not a defense against libel. Rather, by common law truth made a libel worse because a truthful libel was more likely to lead to a breach of the King s peace than a false libel. After other New York lawyers were dissuaded from defending Zenger, Andrew Hamilton of Philadelphia traveled to New York and handled Zenger s defense. Chief Justice De Lancey instructed the jury that they, the jurors, should decide only the question of whether Zenger had published the issues of the New-York Weekly Journal. Despite the instruction, the jury, after a brief deliberation, found Zenger not guilty of publishing seditious libel. Cheers rang out in the crowded courtroom. Andrew Hamilton s success was celebrated by a dinner at the Black Horse Tavern, and his departure from New York was marked by a salute of cannons. John Peter Zenger was soon released from prison and returned to his printing business. Hamilton s defense of Zenger resulted in the expression a Philadelphia lawyer , which was a term of praise. (See below.) Challenging the law as it then stood, Hamilton argued for acquittal on the basis that the alleged libel was truthful. He argued, The question before the Court and you, Gentlemen of the jury, is not of small or private concern. It is not the cause of one poor printer, nor of New York alone, which you are now trying. No! It may in its consequence affect every free man that lives under a British government on the main of America. It is the best cause. It is the cause of liberty. (At p. 46.) The jury s acquittal resonated with the colonists and Zenger s Case became the best-known case in pre-Revolutionary America. It stood for liberty and the right and ability of colonial juries to nullify, to refuse to enforce hated laws. For example, no convictions for violations of the Stamp Tax were obtained in colonial New Jersey. In 1752 William Owen, a bookseller, was criminally charged with libel. Owen had published a defense of Alexander Murray, who had been imprisoned for seditiously libeling Parliament. Like Zenger, Owen was acquitted despite the judge s charge to the jury calling for a conviction. Thus, Owen s Case was a victory for free speech. Today people are as likely to think the expression a Philadelphia lawyer as one of scorn rather than as one of praise. This turn of phrase is, however, not inappropriate since Andrew Hamilton (no relation to Alexander), though a powerful orator and successful politician, who was elected Speaker of Pennsylvania s colonial Assembly, became known for swindling widows out of their property. Seller Inventory # 21
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