FREE ESSAY ON AMISTAD

AMISTAD

In the beginning of the movie Amistad, slave hunters abducted a large group of Africans
from Sierra Leone in Africa and shipped them to Cuba to be traded. The Africans were
purchased by Spanish men and put aboard a ship called Amistad. This abduction and trade
violated treaties that then existed, because you could not be bought or sold as a slave
unless you were a natural-born slave, which they were not. During the journey overseas,
the Africans seized the ship, killed the head crewmembers, and ordered the remaining crew
to sail to Africa. Not much later, the Amistad was seized by a U.S. ship. The two Spanish
men were freed and the Africans were imprisoned on charges of murder. President Van Buren
was in favor of convicting the Africans, because he was warned that if the Africans were
set free, it would start a civil war. So when the Federal court judge seemed to be
leaning towards the African's side, Van Buren impeached him and replaced him with a new
young judge that he thought would support the Spanish men's side. This is an example of
checks and balances. It demonstrates the executive branch's check on the judicial branch.
The court ruled that the claims to the Africans as property were not lawful because they
were illegally abducted and held as slaves. Therefore, the Spanish men were to be
imprisoned and the Africans sent back to Africa. A well-known man warned the president
again of civil war and the negative outcome of the Africans being freed. When the
president said there was nothing he could do about it now, the man told him that he could
appeal the case and make it appear before the Supreme Court. This is exactly what Van
Buren did, and this is also an example of checks and balances. The president has the
right to appeal a court's decision. The case went to the Supreme Court, and former
President John Quincy Adams argued the Africans' case. Adams defended the right of the
Africans to fight for their freedom. The Supreme Court decided in favor of the Africans,
and they were finally aloud to return to their homeland.