The Amistad incident exposed the need to bring the Constitution and American laws in compliance with the moral principles underlying the Declaration of Independence. It pointed out the need to change American laws which contradicted the natural laws expressed in our Constitution. The importance of the Amistad case lies in the fact that Cinque and his fellow captives, with the help of the white abolitionists, had won their freedom. For the first time in history, Africans seized by slave dealers had won their freedom in American courts. They had brought national attention to a great social injustice. This verdict marked a major milestone for the white abolitionists. The Supreme Court rules the slaves free, stating that the slaves had been “kidnapped” and they had an inherent right of self-defense. The Africans, he proclaimed were victims of a conspiracy that denied their rights as human beings. He expresses so much emotion while pointing to a copy of the Declaration of Independence on the wall in the courtroom he states “I know of no other law that reaches the case of my clients, but the law of Nature and Nature’s God on which our fathers placed our own national existence. Anthony Hopkins shines in his role as John Quincy Adams, with his argument to the Supreme Court. They appealed to former President, John Quincy Adams for help.Īdams accepted the case and in the Supreme Court trial, Adams delivered an emotional argument challenging the Court to grant the Africans liberty on the basis of the natural rights as outlined in the Declaration of Independence. Baldwin the African’s attorney felt the only way they could win this trial is by seeking help from an influential person of status. Abolitionists to enhance strong public emotion against slavery, begin publicizing the horror stories and brutalities of slavery. The Abolitionists play a big part in the outcome of this trial. This trial marked the beginning of a court case that dramatically challenged our judicial system. Army, capturing the Africans and forcing them to face a trial, on charges of murder and mutiny. The Africans had control of the Amistad for only a short time before it was seized by the U.S. The Africans did spare the lives of two Spaniards who were needed to help navigate the ship back to Africa. The revolt on the slave ship Amistad resulted in the deaths of the captain and cook of the ship. Although a third of the slaves died aboard the Tecora before it reached its destination, those that survived the trip were eventually auctioned into slavery in Havanna, Cuba. The slaves were shackled and chained, then packed in an unsanitary, overcrowded slave ship, and exposed to inhuman treatment, on the Portuguese slaver Tecora as it makes its way through the Middle Passage towards Cuba. It is very distressing to see the cruelty that was imposed on the slaves as they were captured. Leading up to the trial of the Africans, Spielberg illustrates the horrors the slaves endured as they were captured and taken from their homes.
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