Rhetorical Devices In Amistad

As I read Aristotle’s On Rhetoric, the 1997 film, Amistad, immediately came to mind because of the persuasive nature of the storyline throughout. There are several instances of persuasion during the course of the movie, and all of those actions lead to a final persuasive speech before the Supreme Court that ultimately attempts to right the injustice that set the story in motion.

Based on actual events, Amistad tells the story of an 1839 slave revolt that took place aboard the slave ship, La Amistad, on its way from Cuba to the United States. Much of the story is told through the eyes of Cinque, a brave abductee who, having survived capture in Africa and starvation aboard the slave ship Tecora prior to La Amistad, led the other

captives to rise up against their captors and seize control of the ship. Cinque allowed two of their Spanish abductors to live, under the pretense that they would sail the ship back to Africa. The Spaniards tricked Cinque and continued sailing toward America, where the ship was intercepted by the U.S. Navy. The Africans were seized and imprisoned until a determination could be made as to who had the right to claim them-Spain or the U.S. This resulted in what would become a landmark case with regard to slavery and human rights in the United States.

Approached by abolitionists who sought his legal services, young attorney, Roger S.

Baldwin (played by Matthew McConaughey) took the case of the Africans, who also faced charges of piracy and murder. It is prior to the trial that the first instance of the influence of Aristotle’s thoughts on rhetoric appears. Aristotle defined rhetoric as “an ability, in each (particular) case, to see the available means of persuasion,” (Aristotle, p.115). We see this at play with regard to Baldwin’s handling of the case’s presentation before the district court. Upon taking the Amistad case, Roger Baldwin realizes almost immediately that the only way he stands a chance of winning is by basing his defense on basic property rights. The abolitionists, unhappy with Baldwin’s chosen method of defending the case, must be convinced that this is the strongest leg they can stand on, though it is in contrast to their values. In scene 6, Baldwin says to them, “Consider this. The only way one may purchase or sell slaves is if they are born slaves. I’m right, aren’t I?” Both men must agree with this. Baldwin delivers his strategy for both instances, saying that if the captives were born slaves (on a Cuban plantation, as claimed by the prosecution), then they are possessions, and as such, no more deserving of criminal charges than “a bookcase or a plow,” and if they were not born slaves, then they were acquired illegally and should be released on the basis of being stolen goods (Amistad, scene

6). While the abolitionists find this method of defense amoral, as a lawyer, Baldwin feels this is the most legitimate way to win the case in a court of law, given the conflicting views on slavery during that time. Aristotle’s ideas in On Rhetoric are reflected in Baldwin’s approach. Aristotle felt that because rhetoric revolves around judgment, (and in this case directly around a judicial proceeding) the presenter should attempt to persuade the audience (or judge) in a way that will connect with and understand. That is exactly what Baldwin is attempting to do in centering his case around property rights law rather than human rights.

As the movie continues, Baldwin gets to know Cinque on a personal level with the use of a translator and hears from beginning to end, Cinque’s story of abduction from his native land and the terror he and all of the other captives faced at sea. Cinque becomes a voice for all of them. While Cinque’s story is not a public speech, his words do lead Baldwin to an emotional reaction. Baldwin, himself has come to see Cinque and the other captives as people not unlike himself. Baldwin vows to win the case, and does so, only to have the case thrown out on appeal.

Convinced that he cannot win a second trial alone, Baldwin and the abolitionists seek out the assistance of former president John Quincy Adams (played by Anthony Hopkins) to bring the case before the Supreme Court in 1841.

Hesitant to take the case at first, it is ultimately Cinque’s ability to relate to Adams on a human level, as well, that leads Adams to accept. This is where some of Aristotle’s concepts come into play again. Like Baldwin before him, Adams must present the case in a way that will resonate with the judges, but he must also get them to relate to the captives in the same manner that he and Baldwin have- As human beings. Aristotle believed there were three necessary components to a speech- A speaker, a subject, and an objective (116). Adams has taken the role of the speaker, the subject, of course, is the origin of the captives as it relates to their freedom (and the methods by which they defended it), and the objective is to have them set free and returned home. The hearers are the Supreme Court

Justices

Given the political climate, the task before Adams was nearly impossible. In his closing arguments, he speaks not only of the captives in question, but of the immorality of slavery as a whole- going several steps farther than Baldwin had been willing to during his prior representation of the captives. Through his speech, Adams is able to persuade the court justices to view Cinque not as a possession, but a man defending his freedom in heroic fashion. He does this by imploring the judges to consider that if Cinque’s skin were white, they would welcome him as a hero and bestow him with medals for his bravery. Adams concludes his speech by saying essentially that if the verdict results in Civil War, it has come justly. In a near landslide decision, the Africans are granted their freedom and returned to Africa. Not quite historically accurate, but a powerful ending, nonetheless and achieved through Adam’s ability to know his audience and appeal to them accordingly.