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A notable event in the history of religious freedom in America...
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A notable event in the history of religious freedom in America...

Item # 682626 ·
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THE POST-BOY, London, Dec. 26, 1724

  • Clergyman John Checkley trial
  • Religious freedom in America

This early title typically has little if any American content, but this issue is an exception. The back page has: "By a letter from New-England we have advice that on the 10th of November last came on the trial of Mr. John Checkley before the Superior Judges, upon an appeal from a judgment given against him in the Inferior Court in July before. After a trial which lasted above six hours the jury brought in this verdict..." and what follows is a report which detailed the "guilty" verdict.
This is a very notable event in the history of religious freedom in America. 
Clergyman John Checkley was born in Boston. He published in London, in 1723, a reprint of Leslie's "Short and Easy Method with the Deists" to which he added a "Discourse Concerning Episcopacy, in Defence of Christianity and the Church of England," consisting of a rude attack on the clergy and people of New England. For this he was tried before the Supreme Court in Boston in 1724, and fined £50 for libel. Checkley's trial is considered a notable event in the history of religious toleration and freedom of the press in America. 
Single sheet newspaper with two handsome engravings in the masthead, nice condition.

No Longer Available
100% Authentic: Original printing, never a reproduction.