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

Book

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

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 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. Here is an enduring lesson that redounds to this day on the vital importance of free public expression as the underpinning of democracy. --

Record details

ISBN: 0393245462
ISBN: 9780393245462
Physical Description: print
xxi, 346 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : W.W. Norton & Company, [2016]
Copyright: ©2016

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Preamble: the essential liberty -- Author's note on style -- A perilous trade -- Stormy Petrel -- Power plays -- Bending the rule of law -- Battle lines -- A superlative monster arises -- An end to generous pity -- Whiffs of Torquemada -- Philadelphia lawyer -- Indelible ink -- Epilogue: the uses of whistleblowers.