Amistad a Movie Directed by Steven Spielberg

Amistad, directed by Steven Spielberg, portrays the plight of a group of African natives who are forcibly and illegally enslaved, take control of their ship, La Amistad, and the ensuing American legal battle. The movie, which was based on a book which was based on a historical event, remains relatively close to the truth and is an accurate representation of the anti-African resentment, abolitionist movement, and tedious court systems of early 19th century America. As the movie progressed, different philosophical views and opinions on slavery and equality began to shine through and were noticeable as part of the movie’s main theme. The moral and political philosophies of men such as Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Thomas Jefferson and, Jean-Jacques Rousseau important political figures of the era, reflect the time period and closely relate to Amistad.

Thomas Hobbes, a straightforward and occasionally pert man, was an English Philosopher who lived and wrote in the 17th century. While best known for his book Leviathan and his dark views on human nature, Hobbes had much to say about the natural equality of all men. In Hobbes’s time, one century before the Amistad debacle, the British were less concerned with skin color and more with political, religious, and societal standing. Hobbes, not having been born to wealth or prestige, had the incredible luck of having a wealthy uncle to pay for his education. Because of this, he understood that not all men are endowed with a high position in life, but that does not make them any less clever or any more corrupt that those in the aristocracy. Hobbes fully believed that each man was essentially equal in their sins and virtues. However, while each man is the same, this also means that each man is the...

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Works Cited

Albers, Harrie S. "Biography of Thomas Jefferson." American History. University of Groningen, 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. .

"Jean-Jacques Rousseau." The Abolition of The Slave Trade. The New York Public Library, 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2013. .

Voltaire. "What Happened to Them at Surinam, and How Candide Got Acquainted with Martin." Candide. New York: New York Public Library, 2010. N. pag. Print.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1904). The Suppression of the African Slave-trade to the United States of America, 1638–1870. Longmans, Green. pp. 95–96.

Williams, Garrath. "Thomas Hobbes: Moral and Political Philosophy." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Lancaster University, 5 July 2005. Web. 16 Dec. 2013. .