Indelible Ink: The Trials of John Peter Zenger and the Birth of America's Free Press

We wouldn't remember John Peter Zenger (1697–1746) for his momentous contribution to freedom of the American press if not for Lewis Morris (1671–1746). A brilliant, self-serving, power-hungry landowner, Morris was driven to avenge his firing as New York chief justice by William Cosby, royal governor of New York. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Kluger (Ashes to Ashes) deftly details the years of repressive political and legal conditions leading to Zenger's 1735 trial for printing Morris's and James Alexander's anonymous, cutting accusations of the governor in a newspaper designed solely to ruin Cosby's reputation. Kluger thoroughly outlines the history of Cosby's peremptory abuse of royal prerogative, and the conniving of Morris, Alexander, and other antiroyalists. Andrew Hamilton, Zenger's skilled attorney, boldly and successfully challenged prevailing law that defined any criticism of the royal government as criminal seditious libel. Kluger raises important questions still resonating today: Should the government limit free expression to maintain order and shield itself from criticism (warranted or not)? How far should judgment extend if it spurs unrest or threatens national security?