Jacob Groom

Carlson
American Civilization
9/9/15
Amistad
Not only does Amistad, by Steven Spielberg, give a gripping and
emotional view into the horrors experienced during the slave trade era, but also
sheds light on the event that sparked much political debate from 1839 to 1841.
La Amistad was a slave trade ship on its way from Havana Cuba, to another port
in the Caribbean when it was overthrown by mutiny of the African slaves aboard
it. Cinque is the name of the slave who was able to free himself first and then
lead the others to commandeer the ship. The slaves kill the captain and cook
and leave only 2 other Spaniards alive in the hopes of using the Spaniards to
guide the ship back to Africa. Reluctantly, the Spaniards do so but with a catch,
during the day they sail eastwards towards Africa and at night they change
direction and sail back westward. This creates a zig-zag pattern that lasts for
many weeks until finally ending up off the coast of Long Island where the ship is
boarded by American soldiers and taken to a port in Connecticut where the
sparked political debate begins and many come forward hoping to lay claim to
these slaves. Over the course of the next two years, the case of La Amistad is
appealed through various U.S. courts until it reaches the Supreme Court. The
Supreme Court is convinced by Roger Baldwin and none other than former
President John Quincy Adams to rule in favor of the slaves and deem them free
men.

Having no prior knowledge of La Amistad nor the events surrounding the

ships cargo, I found myself emotionally attached to the film. Due to the
amount of time it took for the case to receive a final ruling (about two years),
Spielberg is unable to include every detail of La Amistads history in his two and
a half hour film, but that does not prevent him from trying, nor from embellishing
in some details or adding fictional characters and events. After doing some
research I found that Spielbergs rendition to be fairly accurate in many aspects,
but unfortunately most of the emotionally riveting scenes proved to be fictitious
and the product of Literary Licensing.
Early on in the film we see Lewis Tappan and Theodore Joadson, freed
slaves turned abolitionists, banding together to promote the cause of the
Amistad captives. This is inaccurate because Joadson did not even exist.
Joadsons character is completely fictional, created by Spielberg to add another
character to an already large and confusing plot, whose purpose can only be
assumed to represent the many African Americans who helped end slavery in the
United States. (Halyard)
Tappan, however, does promote the cause of the Amistad captives and is
aided in their defense by the property lawyer Roger Baldwin. Spielberg portrays
Baldwin as a young and inexperienced lawyer who is out of his element, setting
him up to be the underdog. This is also inaccurate, according to history Baldwin
was almost 50 years old at the time the Amistad case began. He was a wellrespected man with an impressive resume as a property lawyer and a reputation
for defending the less fortunate. (FJC)

Throughout the film, Spielberg shows President Martin Van Buren

campaigning for re-election on a whistle top train tour. This is extremely
inaccurate because not only is the upcoming election 14 months away, but
Presidential Candidates did not go around running and campaigning for
president at the time but rather used a more passive approach to let a man be
defined by his character and not his words. It wasnt until the 1860s that
candidates began to subtly tour and speak during their campaigns. (Linder and
Harp)
During the film, Spielberg shows the team in defense of the Amistad
captives trying to enlist the help of former President John Quincy Adams. There
is a scene depicting Adams decision to help that revolves around Cinque visiting
Adams in his home and showing Cinque his flower collection to include an
African Violet. Not only was Cinque imprisoned for the entirety of the two years
of the case, but there is no evidence recorded nor eluding to Cinque ever visiting
Adams in his home, nor a conversation between the two about something as
trivial as a flower. It should also be noted that African Violets are native to
Eastern Africa, not Sierra Leone in the west where Cinque is from. It is highly
debated whether Cinque ever saw an African Violet in his entire life. The scene
holds no historical accuracy but serves its purpose in creating a fictional bond
between Adams and Cinque. (Linder and Kessler)
The case of the Amistad was successful in freeing the African slaves and
credit is due to the many men who helped, but mostly to Lewis Tappan. It was
Tappan who first took to helping the Amistad captives and decided that justice
must needs be served. It was Tappan who was able to convince many to join the
cause and enlist the help of former President John Quincy Adams, who was able

to sway the Supreme Court and secure the freedom of the Amistad captives.
Like Tappan, so too was William Pitt able to rally the people together for the
cause he was devoted to. The Colonists victory in The French and Indian War
was greatly attributed to Pitt and his ability to enlist the support of Britain to
conquer the French in America.

Works Cited

Halyard, Helen. "World Socialist Web Site." Amistad: Some Historical

Considerations -. International Committee of the Fourth International, 1998. Web.
09 Sept. 2015.

"History of the Federal Judiciary." History of the Federal Judiciary. Federal

Judiciary Center, n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2015.

Linder, Douglas O. "Salvaging." Salvaging. Journal of Maritime Law and

Commerce, Vol. 31, No. 4, October, 2000, n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2015.

"HarpWeek | Elections | Campaigning." HarpWeek | Elections | Campaigning.

N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2015.

Linder, Douglas O. "An Account of the Amistad Case." An Account of the Amistad
Case. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2015.

Kessler, J. Raymond, Jr. "History and Market." Commercial Greenhouse

Production of African Violets. Extension Floriculture Specialists, n.d. Web.