The revolution in the colonies began on August 5, 1735, in New York, when the

The Americans prepared for the impending conflict with the British ministry, animated by a prophecy of success because their warfare would be just. They measured the strength of that ministry by true standards, and found them generally weak. (Lossing 6)

trial of John Peter Zenger got underway. “Twelve New York jurors, inspired by the eloquence of the best lawyer of the period, Andrew Hamilton, ignored the instructions of the Governor's hand-picked judges and returned a verdict of ‘Not Guilty’ on the charge of publishing ‘seditious libels’” (Linder 1). Despite the governor’s successful effort to pack the jury with his own people, Zenger was acquitted based on the argument of “free speech as a basic right of English people” (Bragdon 78). This was the beginning of a revolution started by American jurors, because Hamilton ignored the instructions of the royal judges and claimed that Zenger was not guilty. He instead argued the case in terms of a question, and that publishing the charges against the governor was justifiable because it brought a truth to light, a concept that did not exist in Britain. “The Zenger trial is a remarkable story of a divided Colony, the beginnings of a free press, and the stubborn independence [and the beginnings of revolution] of American jurors” (Linder 1). While there were many more steps before the break with England was to occur, a simple twist on the law ignited the fire that burned all the way to 1775.

Many years after the Zenger trial, in the 1960s, writs of assistance were granted to officers in the colonies. These writs were general search warrants which allowed officials to search for smuggled goods and enter any building without issuing a special warrant each time (Bragdon 99). In response to this policy, a young Advocate-General by the name of James Otis spoke out against the writs in the name of justice. Otis b

Some topics in this essay:
Andrew Hamilton, Massachusetts Lossing, Colonies Otis, Stamp Act, Americans’” Bragdon, Congress Declaration, Town Hall, Peter Zenger, James Otis', Hall Jeter, stamp act, zenger trial, thirteen colonies, act congress, writs assistance, stamp act congress, jeter 1, john adams, opposition arbitrary claims, james otis, american people, declared legal totally, british parliament, british parliament passed, cooperation thirteen colonies,