9781422287477

12 Independence Hall: Birthplace of Freedom

used in the colony. This is still the name of a unit of money circulated in the United Kingdom.) Months passed and Gordon still refused to issue new paper currency. On March 25, 1729, the assembly finally acted, authorizing £50,000 in new currency. But Governor Gordon issued a veto of the Paper Money Act—meaning he sent official notice to the assembly that he would not sign it. The governor’s signature on the act was required for it to become law. The agitators and troublemakers took to the streets of Philadelphia. Mobs tramped their way through the city, attacking citizens and breaking windows, doors, and street lamps. This night of violence became known as the Paper Money Riot . VITAL FIGURE: Andrew Hamilton Assembly Speaker Andrew Hamilton helped put down the Paper Money Riot, designed the State House, and contributed in other ways to the growth of the Pennsylvania colony. But his greatest accom- plishment was the defense of John Peter Zenger, a newspaper publisher in New York who in 1734 dared to criticize Governor William Cosby. There was no guarantee of a free press in 1734. Cosby was appoint- ed by the king of England. He had Zenger arrested and tried for sedition, accusing the publisher of using his newspaper to stir up a revolution against the king. Hamilton served as Zenger’s attorney. “I cannot think it proper to deny the Publication of a Complaint which I think is the right of every free born Subject to make,” Hamilton told the court. The jury was so moved by Hamilton’s speech that it found Zenger not guilty. This land- mark case is the basis for America’s tradition of freedom of the press.