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Self Government In Colonial America Essay

479 Words2 Pages

Starting the 1700s , self-government in colonial America prior to 1776 was affected by both democracy and freedom of the press. To have self government means to have the government of a country be runned by it’s people. The idea of self government has revolutionized since 1776 into what it has become today. The Mayflower Compact in Plymouth and The Trial of John Peter Zenger in New York are both major events that have sparked the beginning of self government in the colonies. The Mayflower Compact, signed in 1620 was one of the first signs of democracy in America. It was the start of a democracy which was key to the rise of self-government in the American colonies prior to 1776. The Mayflower Compact of 1620 was signed by pilgrims aboard the …show more content…

It was very democratic, because the laws established within it , came as a result of the needs and desires of the people, and was engineered to suit their needs as they formed a new society in the new world but still stay loyal to their king. John Peter Zenger was a New York newspaper editor and publisher publicly opposed and criticized colonial governor William Cosby in the New-York Weekly Journal. Zenger also published reports detailing what he considered to be Cosby's offensive actions. In the year 1734, William Cosby issued a proclamation condemning the newspaper to being scandalous, and false. In November, Zenger was arrested and charged with seditious libel. After about nine months in prison, Zenger went to court in which he was defended by a great lawyer known as Andrew Hamilton. In the trial Hamilton stated that “... the truth could not be defamatory, and therefore, Zenger could not be found guilty of libel” (,1). He was then reported as not guilty. Freedom of the press was then born. Anyone could now publicly print their honest views about government. The 1735 Zenger trial helped promote the idea that the press should have the freedom to print the truth, and that this freedom is a right that should be protected. This was a big step towards self-government as

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