ABSTRACT
The Introduction explains the importance of a free press in the history of American journalism. It begins with a description of Enlightenment ideas about natural law that argue all people are born with unalienable rights, and it cites the pre-Revolutionary trial of John Peter Zenger as an antecedent for the First Amendment, which guaranteed press freedoms in the United States, along with other civil liberties in the Bill of Rights. Using materials from this chapter, students should be able to identify the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. They should identify language introduced by influential early Americans (i.e. James Madison) that frames subjects featured in subsequent chapters of the book. They should also be able to explain the conventional methods of studying history compared with journalism history, describing the way in which the press has had a remarkably unique role in telling stories, a function that an American publisher once called the first rough draft of history. Key words, names, and phrases associated with the Introduction include John Milton and natural law; the trial of John Peter Zenger Trial; the First Amendment, freedom of the press, freedom of speech; and the first draft of history.
