Zenger's trial, the truth of the libelous allegations mitigates damages and
justifies the libel.

It was not until the trial of Peter Zenger that his extremely able lawyer
created the notable precedent that the truth must be accepted as justifica-
tion for a libel and in mitigation of whatever damages might have been
suffered by the plaintiff. In the Brooklyn Eagle Miracle Wheat case the
libel was clear and the court so instructed the jury, which promptly
brought in a verdict of six cents for the plaintiff. This justified the Eagle
and humiliated the sellers of Miracle Wheat.

The Peter Zenger trial established one other notable precedent for libel
cases. This was that the jury before which he was tried had the right not
only to pass upon the fact but also the law in the case. The logic and elo-
quence of Zenger's attorney persuaded the jury that it had the right to
determine how and to what extent the letter and spirit of the law could
and should be applied in the Zenger case.

It is an interesting fact that the entire preceding history of the freedom
of the press among English-speaking peoples played its part in the Zenger
trial. The writings of Milton, Locke, Swift, Steele, Addison, and Defoe
were all quoted to justify the freedom with which Zenger's newspaper
voiced its criticism of Governor Cosby and the way he governed.

This willful executive first attempted to have Zenger indicted by a
grand jury, but the jury refused to act. Then he ordered Zenger's paper to
be burned by the public hangman, and it was duly burned, though not by
the hangman. Finally the Governor secured the issue of a warrant for
Zenger's arrest and the printer was put in jail on a charge of seditious
libel. Zenger's journal missed a single issue. Then, thanks to his wife, it
appeared every Monday while Zenger was in jail. Zenger's wife, Anna
Catherine, took over the print shop and saw that the paper was published.
She didn't write the contents any more than her husband, but she never
complained that the printer's family was suffering for others.

Nowadays it is a Constitutional right that "Excessive bail shall not be
required," but in Zenger's day there was no such rule. His bail was so
high that neither he nor his friends could meet it. The fact that he was
put in jail also helped sway public opinion in Zenger's favor.

The record of the Zenger trial as it is developed in this book is one of
the notable case histories of American jurisprudence. Andrew Hamilton,
Zenger's able attorney, made such a case for his client that it attracted
attention not only in the colonies but in England. New York voted him
the freedom of the city.

Governor Cosby did not long survive the rebuke he suffered by Zenger's
acquittal. And here is a curious fact worth recalling: Andrew Hamilton,
whose notable defense of Peter Zenger has become an imperishable part
of the history of our free press, was also the architect of Independence
Hall in Philadelphia. The Hall still stands and so does the decision in the
Zenger case, both symbolizing enduring monuments to freedom.

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