Amistad means friendship in Spanish. However, in June 1839, a brig named Amistad sailed off the coast of Cuba. It had nothing to do with friendship because the Spanish manor was imprisoned just now. The 53 black Africans bought from slave traders, in extreme horror at the uncertain future of life and death, were led by a warrior named Xin Gai. On a stormy night, they broke free of their iron fetters and got on the boat. The Spaniards fought desperately and eventually killed several Spanish cargo owners and successfully seized the ship. After nearly two months of drifting at sea, it broke down in New York and was found and detained by US coastal defense officials. The eye-catching boat finally drifted into American history. According to our ordinary people’s perception, this is a ship that has nothing to do with the Americans. The shipper is Spanish, and the "cargo" is black Africans. They are just at an inappropriate time and at an inappropriate Way, came to this inappropriate place. Moreover, according to the agreement signed between the United States and Spain at that time, the U.S. government needed to return the "goods" that had arrived to the Spanish authorities. Of course, the U.S. government represented by the president was also willing to do so. They really didn’t need to do just that. Ten unfamiliar black slaves caused diplomacy ("interference in other countries' internal affairs" in our Chinese idiom) and domestic disputes. However, some people are unwilling to do so. who? Anti-slaveists-I always feel that these talents are the real protagonists of this event. Through their selfless and unremitting efforts, they made this seemingly unlikely lawsuit and finally won, so that the Xinges can save their lives and regain their freedom. At the same time, they are also in the process of the anti-slavery movement in the United States. , Has made a significant progress.
In fact, what I am really interested in is not the impact of this incident in the anti-slavery movement in the United States, but those who do not want the president to do this-anti-slavery, why are they not? Are they unwilling to be able to use it? Who are they? What arduous efforts have been made? Why can they succeed? All these are the highest manifestations of the deep spiritual culture of a country and a society.
First of all, why are the anti-slavists unwilling the government to send this Cuban cargo ship back to the Spanish authorities? The answer seems obvious-humanitarian. Everyone knows that the dozens of black Africans on the ship accused of "riots" and "murders" would end up if they were sent to the Spaniards. At that time, most of the people who opposed slavery came from the north. At that time, the British Puritans were dissatisfied with the domestic oppression and pursued a more equal and free country that could accommodate their thoughts. Thus, the famous "Mayflower" was created. When they establish a foothold in this new land, live, multiply, their pursuit of religion and their original ideals will naturally be put into this land under their feet, and slavery is undoubtedly contrary to their beliefs, so in the north After all continents have enacted laws to abolish slavery one after another, the anti-slaves are not satisfied with this. They hope that through reforms and even revolutions, the southern continents can also enact laws to abolish slavery as soon as possible. Therefore, when the Amsda incident was reported by the media, the first to pay attention to the incident and discuss actions was the radical anti-slavery in the north. They hoped to save the lives of black Africans through their own efforts, and at the same time, they also carried out a bold move through this case. The judicial challenge of the United States has prompted more people to realize the inhumanity of slavery, thus speeding up the process of abolitionist movement. At that time, this move of the anti-slavishists also received the support of many people in the north. When they publicly raised funds for the cost of the long litigation for this case in the media, they quickly got the support of their colleagues. response. Through everyone's efforts, the black people have a better living environment than the detainees. In contrast, they spent more time and energy on the issue of how to communicate with black people who speak the African dialect that they don’t understand at all, and build trust. They even raised enough funds to use them in case the lawsuit fails, they will spend huge sums of money to buy the black people from Spanish cargo owners, and then send them back to faraway Africa. In the process, they received the help of many people who did not leave a name. It can be said that a non-governmental team is contributing money to this matter and supporting them in doing so is undoubtedly the most basic humanitarian spirit.
The second question is, can these anti-slavists do not want the government to send the ships back to the Spanish authorities? This has to start with the US system. Because the coastal defense officials who rescued the black people and the Spanish cargo owner reported the case in the local court, claiming to have the "cargo" on the Amsda, the judge immediately went to investigate after receiving the report. At this point, the case was declared to enter the judicial process. . Under this circumstance, the executive branch of the president has no right to interfere with the judicial branch. Otherwise, the president is illegal. In the United States, even in the United States 170 years ago, it is a boundary that presidents dare not touch easily (you should We will not forget that in the Watergate incident 130 years later, President Nixon finally stepped down because he tried to interfere with the judicial process with the power of the president). Therefore, after the case entered the judicial process, the incident was beyond the control of the President. Even if he secretly prepared the ship behind his back, and sent these troublesome blacks away after the first trial was over, the media was spotted and acted upon it. Reporting (it can be seen that the American media had sufficient press freedom at the time). Perhaps this was one of the reasons why he failed to run for re-election in the second year. In the "Amsda" movie, there is a scene that vividly shows what is the capitalist rule of law system with American characteristics. When the Queen of Spain’s special envoy could not understand why the US president, who in their eyes is the leader of a country, could not even handle a small local court, and asked the other party why the US court was so disobedient, the US's answer was: what we know The thing is, it is precisely because of such a court that our freedom is preserved. Of course, even in this case, if there are no anti-slave activists actively seeking a legal way out for the black people, and no disobedient judges using their professional ethics and qualities to enforce the law impartially, things are still likely to go the way the president hopes. Direction development, which is why he secretly prepared ships for the black people. However, it is often that there are no obvious provisions in this kind of law, and the importance of judicial independence is more obvious when judging whether it is right or left, because only in this case can lawyers and judges give full play to it. Their understanding of the law, especially in the Supreme Court, the judges’ judgment is often the beginning of the next legislation.
What really touched me in the incident was not only the black man Xin Gai who rose up to fight, but also the lawyers who paid unconditionally for this case. In the film, the director gave the protagonist the position of black people who yearned for freedom and struggled. The description of lawyers was second, and some were specific to individuals. Perhaps the director’s main performance in the film was the tragic situation of African black slaves. It is understandable for people to see the brutality and cruelty of this system of slavery and the heavy fortune it has left in American history. However, did the lawyers who ate and sleep for the black people left a civilized mark in the history of the United States? From today's perspective, many of them are what we now call the "second generation of officials" and "third generation of red", such as the two main defense lawyers, one is Roger Shamon, one of the signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence. The grandson of Ben Devon, the other is the sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams. Adams, who was 73 years old at the time, was an incumbent member of the House of Representatives. His father was the second president of the United States, John Adams, the main defender of the US "Declaration of Independence" and one of the drafters of the US Constitution. In addition to these two defense lawyers, the other two most active participants: brothers Arthur Taipen and Lewis Taipen, are the descendants of the famous Benjamin Franklin. These princelings in our eyes are "rooted and red", and there are too many reasons to sit and enjoy the princelings of their fathers. Not only did they not stand high and majestic because of the family relationship, but instead stood on the opposite side of the government in this incident. People's freedom runs in many directions. They are even threatened and intimidated by their personal safety because of their anti-slavery stance and their help to black people (from this we can also see that there is no market in the United States for the thinking and behavior of "My dad is Li Gang"). These predicaments did not stump or scare them, on the contrary, the pace became more determined and confident. In them, people can see deep sympathy for suffering and compassion for life. Perhaps this is the religious spirit they believe in. This spirit is also in the same line as the spirit of their ancestors when the country was founded. Born to be equal, they all have the right to life, freedom and the right to pursue happiness." Similar scenes appear several times in the film. Some whites who have never met the black people chant the Bible and pray for the black people outside the house where the black people are held or outside the court. This religious fraternity spirit that transcends race and skin color or It is not understood by the black people, but there is no doubt that this country has been inseparable from this spirit from the barbarism hundreds of years ago to today's civilization.
The ultimate success of anti-slavists in this judicial challenge is also inseparable from the founding spirit of the sages. They pursued freedom and equality and established a contract system based on the concept of their descendants. Has been inherited and carried forward. This is not only manifested in these second-generation lawyers, but also in the judges of the District Court and the Supreme Court. The reason why Judge Judison in the first instance left a confident expectation for the president was because of his strong racial prejudice in the past. However, in this case, it was unexpectedly decided that the black would win. In the film, the director presented this scene with an exciting conflict full of dramatic effects. For Judison’s 180-degree thought change, Spielberg attributed the reason to the power of religion. However, apart from religion, one cannot help but think of the system and the absolute independence of the judiciary, so that judges no longer become tools for those in power to control their power, and there is no longer any need to fear that there is a black hand behind it. Naturally, people are full of expectations for the impartiality of judges, and the status of judges in people’s minds has also been greatly improved. On this basis, judges who exercise the power to make judgments often have a sense of professional honor and sense of mission that can drive them to break their personal limitations. The choice is because they are elites who are proficient in the law, making it easier for them to recognize the direction of historical progress than ordinary people and move closer to this direction. When we arrive at the Supreme Federal Court, this tendency is even more evident in the justices who are trusted and respected. Before there are new laws to follow, they can always hold fast to the spirit of the U.S. Constitution and make representations of the development of civilization. The judgment of direction, and even the judgments read by some judges, has become a famous declaration written into history in the future. It is in this judicial spirit that the few amendments to the constitution are produced with the changes of the times and the development of society. of.
At this point, I suddenly remembered that a friend from Taiwan talked with us some time ago and said that when a society is in turmoil or change, the first person to feel a certain trend must be the lawyer in it. I think this is not only because most of the lawyers have higher IQ and knowledge than ordinary people, and rich social experience, but also because they are well versed in the operating rules of this society and master the essence of the laws that condense the deep culture of a society. When the rules and culture of this society undergo a certain change, the first thing that touches is undoubtedly their higher-than-average sensitive nerves. Therefore, if a lawyer with a high IQ uses his intelligence to know the law and break the law, he will certainly be able to do better than ordinary people, more accurately and seamlessly; in the same way, if a lawyer with a high IQ uses his ingenuity in the pursuit of fairness and justice Like the judicial challenge of the above-mentioned ideal of equality for all human beings, the contribution he can make to this society must be much greater than that of ordinary people. I further think that under a normal social system, peaceful reform and evolution should rely on these legal professionals who have lofty and even retreat ideals, and use pragmatic methods to strive for the application of ordinary individuals. Some fairness and rights gradually promote the establishment and improvement of the rule of law.
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