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

by Richard Kluger

The liberty of written and spoken expression has been fixed in the firmament of American social values since our nation’s beginning – the government of the United States was the first to legalize free speech and a free press as fundamental human rights. But when the British began colonizing the New World, strict censorship was the iron rule of the realm. Any words, true or false, that were thought to disparage the government were prejudged as a criminally subversive and duly punishable threat to law, order, and the peace of the kingdom. Even after Parliament lifted licensing requirements for all printed material late in the seventeenth century, publishers did not escape the crown’s strict scrutiny and prosecution if they dared criticize their rulers.

So in 1733, when a small newspaper, The New-York Weekly Journal, printed scathing articles that assailed and mocked the new British governor, William Cosby, as corrupt and abusive of his power, colonial New York was scandalized – but hardly displeased. The paper’s publisher, a previously impoverished print shop owner named John Peter Zenger, with a wife and six children to feed, in fact had no hand in his paper’s vitriolic content; he was only the front man for Codby’s two most impassioned adversaries, New York Supreme Court Chief Justice Lewis Morris and his collaborator James Alexander, a shrewd and highly successful attorney.

While Morris and Alexander, with fame and fortune to lose if convicted for seditiously libeling the colony’s royal governor, bankrolled the paper but remained in the shadows, Zenger became the venture’s courageous fall guy as Cosby brought the full force of his high office down upon the Journal and its publisher. Jailed for the better part of a year, Zenger faced a jury in New York’s City Hall on August 4, 1735, a court proceeding matched in importance during the colonial period only by the Salem witch trials.

In Indelible Ink, social historian Richard Kluger re-creates in rich and engaging detail the dramatic clash of powerful antagonists that marked the beginning 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 true democracy and the key to an informed electorate.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Journalism, American History, Politics, Audiobook, Law

368 pages, Hardcover

Published September 13, 2016

About the author

Richard Kluger is an American social historian and novelist who, after working as a New York journalist and publishing executive, turned in mid-career to writing books that have won wide critical acclaim. His two best known works are Simple Justice, considered the definitive account of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 landmark decision outlawing racially segregated public schools, and Ashes to Ashes, a critical history of the cigarette industry and its lethal toll on smokers, which won the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction.

Born in Paterson, N.J., Kluger grew up in Manhattan and graduated from Princeton University, where he chaired The Daily Princetonian. As a young journalist, he wrote and edited for The Wall Street Journal, the pre-Murdoch New York Post and Forbes magazine, and became the last literary editor of the New York Herald Tribune and its literary supplement, Book Week. When the Tribune folded, Kluger entered the book industry, rising to executive editor of Simon and Schuster, editor-in-chief of Atheneum, and publisher of Charterhouse Books.

Moved by the cultural upheavals sweeping across the U.S., Kluger left publishing and devoted five years to writing Simple Justice, which The Nation hailed as “a monumental accomplishment” and the Harvard Law Review termed “a major contribution to our understanding of the Supreme Court.” It was a finalist for the National Book Award, as was Kluger’s second nonfiction work, The Paper: The Life and Death of the New York Herald Tribune. It was followed by Ashes to Ashes and three other well received works of history,
Seizing Destiny , about the relentless expansion of America’s territorial boundaries; The Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek, about a tragic clash between white settlers and tribal natives in territorial Washington, and Indelible Ink, about publisher John Peter Zenger and the origins of press freedom in America.

Of his seven novels, the most widely read were Members of the Tribe, warmly praised by the Chicago Tribune said, and The Sheriff of Nottingham, which Time called “richly imagined and beautifully written.” He also co-authored two novels with his wife Phyllis, a fiber artist and herself the author of two books on needlework design. The Klugers live in Berkeley.

Reviews

[bup · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, the book took a while to get going, because I was hearing about Lewis Morris, William Cosby, and James Alexander for the first half of the book much more than Peter Zenger, without understanding what roles they played until Zenger was becoming the pawn in the middle of a fight between a provocateur and a corrupt royal governor who seem like they were cut from the same cloth.

Of course the trial is interesting, as is the correction of the reductionist, school-taught trope that "Peter Zenger fought for and won freedom of the press for the people." And unfortunately the end, wherein Kluger laments the very real erosion the press has suffered under the name of national security, is interesting as well.

[Samuel Winchester · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, presumably, is about the 1734 trial of John Peter Zenger, a printer accused of libel for publishing a newspaper highly critical of the appointed governor of New York.

However, more than half the book has almost nothing to do with Zenger or the trial, focusing instead on the life and politics of Lewis Morris (1671-1746) who was undoubtedly an influential figure in colonial American politics. But while he helped organize the entire newspaper plan and likely financed the undertaking, he was not the primary writer of the articles in question. In fact, he wasn't even in the country at the time of the trial.

The parts about the trial and the arguments used by the defense and prosecutor were interesting. However, in the conclusion, we learn there is some controversy over how exactly important this trial was. Perhaps crediting it with the "Birth of America's Free Press" is far too much credit. The author may have had the time to make a better argument in this area had not so of the book been spent regaling us with tales of Morris.

A better approach would have been to focus solely on the press in early America. This would have painted a more complete picture than we get, and would have pulled in some very interesting figures (like Franklin). As it is, the book is too unfocused to deliver on what it promises.

[Ken Dowell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Indelible Ink is about the 18th century court case that is widely viewed as establishing freedom of the press as a foundation of American law. In that 1735 trial, the New York printer John Peter Zenger is charged with seditious libel for printing in his New York Weekly Journal information and commentary critical of the British-appointed colonial governor of New York.

This is not about journalism. Zenger printed articles that were written by the opposition party to those in power in the colony. He had no editorial staff and wrote none of it himself. The key legal issue was whether or not the truth can be libelous. There had been precedent in British common law for seditious libel to be a crime even if it were true; the rationale being that it undermined the government and destabilized society.

Kluger’s book is mostly a look at the elites in colonial America and the power struggles between them. There was always a rivalry between the landed elites and the commercial powers. The jockeying for power had a lot more to do with favoritism and patronage than with policy. Part of this mix is the colonial leaders appointed by the King of England. They are not the most upstanding lot. As Kluger observes, “men of accomplishment and high standing in British social, commercial, and political circles had little motivation to undergo the provisions and dangers of colonial life…” So what we got were well connected gents who tended to be down on their luck financially; producing a string of governors who were at best opportunists and at worst outright grifters.

There isn’t that much about Zenger himself in this story. The governor and his allies went after the printer as a way of shutting off the mouthpiece of his real opponents. Zenger was something of a dupe taking the hit for the attorneys and assemblymen who were out to remove the governor. We also don’t find out too much about another group who could be considered the real heroes of this story, the jury. The Chief Justice who presided over the trial, and who was an appointee of the governor, instructed the jurors that they were merely to make a determination as to whether Zenger printed the content in question and that he (the judge) would determine if it was libel. There was no question that Zenger was the printer. But the jurors overlooked the judge’s instructions and found Zenger not guilty because there was no evidence that the alleged libel was false.

So as much as the Zenger case was a precedent for freedom of the press, what was equally important here was the fundamental right of defendants to a jury trial.

I would have liked a little more focus on Zenger and his lot, colonial society outside the power brokers of the time, but this is a well researched book. There is tons of detail, albeit presented in what at times is pretty dry prose.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reading Copy from the publisher via Goodreads' Giveaways in exchange for this review.

As both a history teacher and advocate for free speech, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Using primary sources and critical analysis of secondary sources, Kluger's fills his narrative with plot and intrigue worthy of a fantasy kingdom - or the English monarchs of several hundred years ago. In addition, his analysis of the importance of Zenger both to his time and our present day is spot-on, and his critique of other, well known secondary sources is valuable.

However, I have somewhat against the work.

First, as this is an ARC, I realize that there will be mistakes. Indeed, I found several spelling errors and name discrepancies, notably with the surname "De Lancey" (the most common spelling).

Second, in early chapters Kluger makes vague historical claims, such that Anne was the best Stuart monarch, without supporting fact. He also makes factual errors concerning the founding of the Middle Colonies; however, these errors are rectified, often on the facing page.

I trust these first two categories were fixed before the final printing.

Third, though, I have a problem with the title based on subject matter. Though the subtitle claims to be about the trials of John Peter Zenger, Kluger spends the first third of the book setting the stage, approximately 200 pages of which only 30 might be charitably attributed to discussing Zenger. Now, these pages are a delight to read and a necessity to the narrative, so I do not think they should be removed. However, I would have amended the subtitle to "Lewis Morris, John Peter Zenger, and the Birth of America's Free Press" or simply "The Birth of America's Free Press." As this is a more stylistic opinion than anything else, it should not influence your desire to read this book.

If you enjoy American History, want to learn more about America's freedom of speech and freedom of the press, or just want a look into the colonial politics of New York/New Jersey, you will enjoy this book.


4 Stars = This book is both well-written and deals with issues that are important/worth some thought.

[Peter Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Indelible Ink: the trials of John Peter Zenger and the birth of America’s Free Press,” by Richard Kluger (Norton, 2016). Finally, Zenger and his New-York Weekly Journal in the much larger context of the Province of New York in the early to mid 18th century. So little is actually known about Zenger, one among several thousand Palatine German refugees resettled in New York by the British, that Kluger spends a lot of time with “Zenger must have” and “is likely to” and “probably.” He set out as an apprentice to William Bradford, New York’s only printer and the publisher of the New-York Gazette, its only newspaper until Zenger began. The story is actually about a long-term conflict between the province’s powerful land-owners and the growing strength of the merchants in the city. They quarreled over who would control the province, how high tariffs should be, what should be taxed, and basically who was in charge. Lewis Morris was a brilliant, dogged farmer turned lawyer turned politician, who essentially wanted to be the leading figure in the provinces of New York and New Jersey. The huge tract of land he owned in the Bronx today is known as Morrisania. Eventually he became chief justice, leader of the state assembly, and holder of a slew of powerful positions in both provinces. Against him was an array mostly of merchants, and the very powerful DeLancey and Philipse families. They fought over who would control the provincial governors, who depended on the provincial assemblies for their income. They also fought over ownership of the Oblong, an odd-shaped piece of land cut out from Connecticut and given to New York. There was a parade of governors, some indifferent, some helpful to the Morrisites, some less so. Finally there arrived William Cosby, who at first seemed very amenable to Lewis Morris. But eventually they fell out, Cosby siding with the DeLanceys in a series of disputes. Ultimately, Morris and his allies, the lawyer James Alexander; his younger associate William Smith; and Dr. Cadwallader Colden, the most learned man in the province, decided to found a newspaper which could publish their anti-Cosby screeds. They hired Zenger to publish and run it; they themselves were never named, and the articles they wrote attacking Cosby and his allies were all anonymous. The pieces stung so much that finally Cosby had Zenger indicted for seditious libel, which in English law at the time basically meant anything critical of the government and its officers, whether true or not. In fact, a famous decision by the ancient Star Chamber had declared that truth was even more dangerous than printing fiction. Zenger was thrown in jail, but the Morrisites supported him and his family through it all. The final straw had come when Cosby, acting without the consent of the province’s Common Council, fired Morris as chief justice and replaced him with James DeLancey, much younger, less-knowledgeable, and hostile to Morris. Zenger was indicted, and scheduled to be tried before DeLancey. Alexander, still keeping himself out of it and convinced that local lawyer James Chambers could not handle the case, contacted Andrew Hamilton of Philadelphia, without a doubt the greatest courtroom advocate in the colonies. On the day of the trial, DeLancey made it abundantly clear to the jury that the truth of what Zenger printed made no difference. But Hamilton, with great daring and powerful courtroom argument, told the jury that their existence as free men under the king meant that they needed to know what their government was doing, and that if they decided Zenger’s stories were true, they should acquit him. And they did! Kluger goes on to demonstrate that for decades the case itself was not of any significance; others continued to be prosecuted for libel despite the truth, and constitutional lawyers did not pay attention to it. Eventually, however, and ultimately with Times vs Sullivan in 1964, the Supreme Court established the principle of freedom of the press, with truth as its basis---and even untruth, if the publisher didn’t know it was false despite his best efforts. Zenger himself pretty much faded from history. There is no Zenger Street or Square or Plaza. Kluger’s writing is lucid and explains some brain-bendingly convoluted points of law clearly. A superb and important book.

http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Indel...

[clara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book for my history class. It may be my least favorite book I have ever read for school. Having to read this book was the worst thing that happened to me in that class, and real gamers know how much that's saying.

Indelible Ink falls prey to a pitfall that is very common among nonfiction books: being long and boring. It took me a solid three weeks to read. I don't remember the last time it took me so long to read a book so short. This book put me in a reading slump. The writing is dry and dense. I almost suspect Kluger had an arrangement with his publisher wherein he was paid for each fancy word he used, because there is no other explanation for why this book is so unnecessarily sesquipedalian. This book could not be passably interesting to save its life. Press freedom and the trial of John Peter Zenger are fascinating subjects, but this book still manages to be irretrievably boring.

Despite being subtitled The Trials of John Peter Zenger and the Birth of America’s Free Press, Indelible Ink manages to go on for over 200 pages (out of 311) without talking once about the trial of John Peter Zenger. A large majority of this book is about early 18th century New York politicians feuding. Almost immediately after Kluger finally begins relaying the events of Zenger’s trial, he digresses into giving us a complete backstory of his lawyer for no apparent reason. One wonders why Kluger chose to write a book allegedly about the trials of John Peter Zenger if he was so uninterested in the subject that he would go to any length to avoid talking about it for as long as possible.

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy boredom.

[Glen Chern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freedom of speech and press

It Is remarkable In our countries 249 years as a democracy,,We are still We are still experiencing attacks On our freedom of speech And the press.It started with British Laws Against libel And have devolved Into Government Interference with With the practice of free expression by declaring a matter a national security concern.A national security concern. Several Presidents in the 21st century have utilized this tactic.

1 of the more Significant examples of British colonial governors To rein in Press freedom Was the Incarceration And trial of John peter Zenger In the early Stages of the 18th century. Zenger Was arrested and incarcerated For 9 months before he finally went to trial In the 1730'a Under a charge of seditious libel Because he was the publisher of a weekly newspaper in New York That was critical of the British colonial governor of that state. The author of This book gives A very comprehensive Look at the trial and it's conclusion.

[Denny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kluger is the first to admit that very little is known about John Peter Zenger, the 18th century New York printer who beat a charge of seditious libel. A lot of what he writes about Zenger is supposition, based on other immigrants from the German Palatinate at that time. But Kluger makes a convincing case that Zenger himself, although he stoically stayed in prison for months awaiting his trial, was actually something of a front man for the lawyers and politicians Andrew Hamilton and Lewis Morris. So Kluger instead opens a window into the corrupt and self-serving colonial politics -- hardly anyone here is above reproach -- that nevertheless results in a trial that establishes (sort-of) that speaking and writing the truth should not be criminalized. Despite the verdict of the trial being almost 300 years old, Kluger's narrative of the trial itself was gripping and suspenseful, and you're relieved when common sense and good judgement among Zenger's jurors win out over oppression.

[Kim Woodbury · Rating 2 out of 5]

Because of my journalism background, I was excited about this book. Sadly, I found it difficult to get through. There were so many characters and so much background information that I found it difficult and confusing to follow the narrative. To be fair, I listened to the audiobook and it was spread out over several months, but I think I would likely have had the same challenge if I had read the hard-copy book in a shorter amount of time. There were parts that were interesting and I did learn a lot, but there was just too much detail and flowery language. Unfortunately, it was one of those books I was relieved to finally finish.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

My reading this book turned out to be a little more timely than I would have liked. At times, it was hitting too close to home for me. While I enjoyed the underlying story of the various political factions in colonial New York and the trial and its results, the text often ran too dry and rambling for me. I came close to DNFing it more than once, but pushed on. I'm glad to have knowledge of the trial that created the first minor stir about a free press and predicted the rampant government criticisms that came a generation or two later in the American Revolution. It's not a topic I had really heard of. That said, the various tangents the text took off on made it hard to follow.

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really looked forward to reading this book and learning about Zengers famous trial that secured the right to free press in America, but was disappointed to find that most of the book focused on the political players and politics leading up to the actual trial. This resulted in a book that was boring and much longer than it needed to be. I had difficulty staying focused and waiting for the majority of the book to tie in to the actual subject matter. I would recommend finding another book if you want to learn more about Zengers trial and its effect on American law or free press.

[Dan Cotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a very well done book about freedom of the press in Colonial America. Focused on trial of John Peter Zenger and the challenges. Much to think about in our current political discourse.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!! Timely.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much unnecessary background.

[Al Menaster · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite good. It's a complete discussion of the Zenger trial.

[Tom Griffiths · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the portion of this book that spoke about the trial and freedom of the press. However it read more like a biography of lewis Morris. I didnt want to read a biography of Morris.

[Joshua McCracken · Rating 1 out of 5]

The moment I read “most of Islam” in a sentence listing “places” where freedom of speech is suppressed, I was done.

[Maria Logan-Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

We take for granted the fact that we can voice our opinions about our elected and appointed leaders whenever and wherever we want. We expect a free press to keep us informed and to hold our government accountable for its actions or inactions. It wasn't always so. The book opens with a discussion of today's news media, but quickly moves to the historical topic.

I would not be surprised if "Indelible Ink" becomes required reading in several departments of most colleges and universities. This book contains not only a history of journalism, and some fascinating legal arguments, but a plethora of historical information about the Colonies of New York and New Jersey, and shows, yet again, that corrupt politicians always have been, and will always be with us. Here's the link to read my complete review: https://hubpages.com/literature/Indel...

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

In History class we read a couples sentences about John Zenger trail and freedom of the press,so when Goodreads gave this book away, I enter and won, giving me the opportunity to learn more about John Zenger and the trail.The one problem with this book for me was a overload of information into the history of New York politics at this time. I like the epilogue which is titled "From Zenger to Snowden", something to think about.

[Jake]

From my review at The Los Angeles Review of Books: "Zenger’s trial does not unfold until the final chapter. But Kluger writes with such vivid detail and brisk pacing that the rather tortuous history that leads there is packed with drama." Read the whole review here: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/t...

[Sarah White · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was rather slow going in parts, and there's definitely a lot of backstory that is necessary but doesn't always feel like it. Still, this was an interesting account of the times of Zenger's paper and the history of press freedom in America.

[Chris Kostenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

review to come

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

US freedom of the press trial resulted from bad blood between rival moneyed interests. Book ended in interesting view of freedom of the press when whistle-blowers take on national security agencies.

[Christi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating but very detailed

[Daniel Farabaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a great job of giving context to a very significant case in America history. The author does a great job with the intricacies of colonial politics.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: Fascinating story, but a little bogged down in the details.

Although freedom of the press is (mostly) a value we accept without question today, when the British first colonized North America, they brought with them a long history of punishing any published criticism as libel. Regardless of whether the printed material was true or false, it could destabilize the government and must be stopped! When a small, weekly newspaper began criticizing the British governor of New York, there was no question the printer would be punished. The novel argument his lawyer made, that accusations must be false to be libelous, was the beginning of a new approach to freedom of the press in the nascent United States.

I had a bit of trouble getting into this book. There were a number of run-on sentences that weren't grammatically unforgivable, perhaps, but that were hard to follow. Once I got into the story, I enjoyed it enough I didn't notice the sentence structure. However, the story did still feel weighed down by the details. Honestly, I'm not sure there was a book's worth of story here. This was a fascinating case, but the amount of backstory we got, on the law and on the characters, felt excessive. I did enjoy it and would recommend it to someone interested in the time period or topic. It definitely isn't the sort of book that I would suggest to someone new to nonfiction though! It felt too much like work to read.This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey