Constitution Party National Chairman

Justin Magill

John Peter Zenger Found Not Guilty!

In 1735, John Peter Zenger was found “not guilty” of seditious libel against the Governor of New York. The Royal Governor of New York, William Crosby, went after John Peter Zenger, one the few skilled printers in the colonies, because of the things printed against the governor in the New-York Weekly Journal, the newspaper where Zenger was a printer. Zenger’s attorney, Andrew Hamilton, argued that Zenger should not be found guilty if what he printed was true. While this was not a defense allowed under the seditious libel laws at the time, the jury came back with a verdict of not guilty.

This case and the outcome of it, laid much groundwork for the American Revolution.

The rights to free speech and freedom of the press were being limited by the British government and dissenters were being targeted. Blackstone, later in his Commentaries on the Laws of England, supported criminal punishment for libel without regard for truth. “For the same reason it is immaterial with respect to the essence of a libel, whether the matter of it be true or false.” However, the Letters of Cato gave a different sentiment about free speech:

“The exposing therefore of publick wickedness, as it is a duty which every man owes to truth and his country, can never be a libel in the nature of things.”

Cato’s Letters No. 32.

Read the Zenger Trial story →

“Men who injure and oppress the People under their Administration provoke them to cry out and complain; and then make that very Complaint the Foundation for new Oppressions and Prosecutions. I wish I could say there were no Instances of this Kind. But to conclude; the Question before the Court and you, Gentlemen of the Jury, is not of small nor private Concern, it is not the Cause of a poor Printer, nor of New York alone, which you are now trying; No! It may in its Consequence, affect every Freeman that lives under a British Government on the Main of America. It is the best Cause. It is the Cause of Liberty; and I make no Doubt but your upright Conduct, this Day, will not only entitle you to the Love and Esteem of your Fellow-Citizens; but every Man, who prefers Freedom to a Life of Slavery, will bless and honour You, as Men who have baffled the Attempt of Tyranny; and by an impartial and uncorrupt Verdict, have laid a noble Foundation for securing to ourselves, our Posterity, and our Neighbors, That, to which Nature and the Laws of our Country have given us a Right – The Liberty – both of exposing and opposing arbitrary Power (in these Parts of the World, at least) by Speaking and writing Truth.”

Atty. Andrew Hamilton

“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom – go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!”

Samuel Adams

The post Freedom of Speech: The Early Years appeared first on Constitution Party.

Article I of the Bill of Rights reads: 

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” 

Note: Our Constitution grants no authority to the federal government either to grant or deny the religious expressions of the people in any place. Both the First and Tenth Amendments forbid such tyranny. 

We call upon all branches of government to cease their attacks on the religious liberties of the people and the states, regardless of the forum in which these liberties are exercised. 

We assert that any form of taxation on churches and other religious organizations is a direct and dangerous step toward state control of the church. Such intrusion is prohibited by the Constitution and must be halted. 

We assert that private organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America can determine their membership, volunteers, and employment based on their oaths and creeds.

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Preamble of the US Constitution: 

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…” 

Samuel Adams said: 

“While the people are virtuous, they cannot be subdued; but once they lose their virtue, they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.” 

Pornography, obscenity and sexually oriented businesses are a distortion of the true nature of sex created by God for the procreative union between one man and one woman in the holy bonds of matrimony. This results in emotional, physical, spiritual, and financial costs to individuals, families, and communities. 

Due to a lack of prosecution, the sexually oriented business industry has proliferated, aggravating the problems of child pornography, human trafficking, and sexually transmitted diseases. This is decreasing our safety by increasing crime rates, specifically rape and molestation in additional to the loss of dignity belonging to all human beings. 

We call on our local, state, and federal governments to uphold our First Amendment right to free speech by vigorously enforcing all laws against obscenity. 

We call on all levels of government to protect and promote that which is truly free speech while vigorously defending and enforcing laws that protect us from the proliferation of pornography and sexually oriented business industries because they are proven to be toxic to community standards, lower property values, and increase crime. 

We believe in the responsibility of the individual and corporate entities to regulate themselves. 

We believe that the government plays a vital role in protecting all citizens, particularly our most vulnerable, women and children, from exploitation.

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