Indelible ink : the trials of John Peter Zenger and the birth of America's free press

Author / Creator

Kluger, Richard author

Available as

Physical

Summary

In 1733, struggling printer John Peter Zenger scandalized colonial New York by launching the New-York Weekly Journal, which assailed the British governor as corrupt and arrogant -- a direct challen...

In 1733, struggling printer John Peter Zenger scandalized colonial New York by launching the New-York Weekly Journal, which assailed the British governor as corrupt and arrogant -- a direct challenge to the prevailing law against "seditious libel", which criminalized any criticism of the government. Fronting for a group of powerful antiroyalist politicians, Zenger was jailed for nine months before his landmark trial in August 1735, when he was brilliantly defended by Philadelphia lawyer Alexander Hamilton. In this book, Richard Kluger recreates this dramatic clash that marked the birth of press freedom in America and its role in vanquishing colonial tyranny.

Show More