Jim Elliott

In 1734 a New York newspaper publisher named John Peter Zenger was imprisoned under the seditious libel act for making a statement critical of the Royal Governor of the colony of New York. Why? Because under the Act, it was illegal to criticize the King’s government. Zenger’s defense was based on the claim that he had merely reported the truth, and the jury found in his favor: truth cannot be libel.

This decision held the seed that led to the creation of the American Bill of Rights.

The Constitution as written did not guarantee the freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights because the Federalists, who at that time were the “Big Government” faction, believed that it wasn’t necessary. But the Anti-Federalists, who did not trust big government, demanded that an accompanying Bill

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