Federal Hall National Memorial
Columned Greek Revival building at Wall Street where the presidency and press freedom were born.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Federal Hall National Memorial in New York opens in August 1735, when printer John Peter Zenger sat in a courtroom on this site after months in jail for publishing articles critical of the colonial governor. It follows his lawyer's argument that truth should be a defense against libel, a claim that ran against the law of the time, and what the jury decided. The guide also traces George Washington's 1789 inauguration on the same ground and the First Amendment debates that followed it here.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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