Perhaps it would be too strong to say that the genius behind the _Journal_ was our greatest editor, but it would be hard to name one of equal importance. If we believe, as we do, that freedom of the press is essential to our civilization, surely we ought to give due recognition to the first American to say so and to act effectively. For this Scottish immigrant of the eighteenth century taught his adopted land the first law of sane journalism: that the news is to be reported on the basis of factual accuracy, and that censorship by the authorities is to be resisted as far as is consistent with national security and the interests of society. The introduction to the text of the trial is based on a series of articles by the author, published in the following journals: “Peter Zenger’s Editor,” _American Quarterly_, VII (1955), 174-81. “Governor Cosby’s Hatchet-Man,” _New York History_, XXXVII (1956), 26-39. “The Myth of Anna Zenger,” _William and Mary Quarterly_, XIII (1956), 157-68. “The Meaning of the Zenger Case,” _Social Studies_, January, 1957. “Governor Cosby and His Enemies,” _New York History_, XXXVII (1956), 365-87. “The Architect of Our Free Press,” _Social Education_, XX (1956), 311-13. For permission to use material from these articles, thanks are due to the respective editors and to the following societies: American Studies Association, New York State Historical Association, Institute of Early American History and Culture, and National Council for the Social Studies. The author also wishes to thank Mr. H. V. Kaltenborn, without whose Fellowship the research would never have been undertaken, much less published. Foreword by H. V. Kaltenborn My desk encyclopedia allots the subject of this book these two brief sentences: “Zenger, John Peter (1697-1749), American journalist, born Germany. His acquittal in libel trial helped further freedom of press in America.” That represents a very sober acknowledgment of the fact that the Zenger case established highly important precedents and is a landmark in the history of the free press among the English-speaking peoples of the world. With all this it is something of an anomaly that Peter Zenger never learned to write good English. He was not a newspaper editor, but only a printer who published the writings of others in an effort to earn an honest living. It was the incidental cause he served, rather than his professional work, that brought him his enduring fame.