On this day in 1840, former President John Quincy Adams begins to
argue the Amistad case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.
A practicing lawyer and member of the House of Representatives, John
Quincy Adams was the son of America's second president, founding
father and avowed abolitionist John Adams. Although John Quincy Adams
publicly downplayed his abolitionist stance, he too viewed the
practice as contrary to the nation's core principles of freedom and
equality. After serving one term as president between 1825 and 1829,
Adams was elected to the House of Representatives, in which he served
until his death in 1848. During his tenure, he succeeded in repealing
a rule that prevented any debate about slavery on the House floor.
In 1839, a Spanish slave ship named La Amistad appeared off the coast
of New York. The "slaves" aboard it, who were free Africans kidnapped
in Africa and originally bound for sale in Cuba, had rebelled, killing
the Spanish ship's captain and cook. The African mutineers then
promised to spare the lives of the ship's crew and their captors if
they took them back to Africa. The crew agreed, but then duped the
slaves by sailing up the coast to New York, where they were taken into
custody by the U.S. Navy.
A complicated series of trials ensued regarding the ownership and
outcome of the ship and its human cargo. The capture of the Amistad
occurred in an era in which debate over the institution of slavery,
its legality within the United States and its role in the American
economy became more intense. Although the federal government had ruled
the slave trade between the U.S. and other countries illegal in1808,
the "peculiar institution" persisted in the South and some
northeastern states.
The Navy captains who commandeered the Amistad off the coast of New
York turned the ship in to authorities in Connecticut. In Connecticut
at this time, slavery was still technically legal, a fact that further
complicated the case. Abolitionists filed a suit on behalf of the
Africans against the slave captors for assault, kidnapping and false
imprisonment. Spain, backed by a 1795 anti-piracy treaty with the
U.S., also claimed rights to the Amistad and her cargo. President
Martin Van Buren, personally neutral on the issue of slavery and
concerned about his popularity in southern states, supported Spain's
claim.
After two district courts ruled in favor of the abolitionists,
President Van Buren immediately instructed the U.S. attorney general
to appeal. Abolitionists hired Adams, who some referred to as "Old Man
Eloquent," to argue for the Africans' freedom in the Supreme Court.
In a seven-hour argument that lasted two days, Adams attacked Van
Buren's abuse of executive power. His case deflated the U.S.
attorney's argument that the treaty with Spain should override U.S.
principles of individual rights. In appeasing a foreign nation, Adams
argued that the president committed the "utter injustice [of
interfering] in a suit between parties for their individual rights."
In a dramatic moment, Adams faced the judges, pointed to a copy of the
Declaration of Independence hanging on the courtroom wall, and said
"[I know] no law, statute or constitution, no code, no treaty, except
that law…which [is] forever before the eyes of your Honors."
Adams' skillful arguments convinced the court to rule in favor of
returning the Africans to their native country, but later, President
Tyler refused to allocate federal funds to send the Africans back to
Africa. Instead, the abolitionists had to raise money to pay for the
expense.
history.com/tdih.do
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Check out what else happened on This Day In History
historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=leadstory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is one that I missed from a month ago...............Scott
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 24:
1935 : First canned beer goes on sale
Canned beer makes its debut on this day in 1935. In
partnership with the American Can Company, the
Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company delivered 2,000 cans
of Krueger's Finest Beer and Krueger's Cream Ale to
faithful Krueger drinkers in Richmond, Virginia.
Ninety-one percent of the drinkers approved of the
canned beer, driving Krueger to give the green light
to further production.
By the late 19th century, cans were instrumental in
the mass distribution of foodstuffs, but it wasn't
until 1909 that the American Can Company made its
first attempt to can beer. This was unsuccessful, and
the American Can Company would have to wait for the
end of Prohibition in the United States before it
tried again. Finally in 1933, after two years of
research, American Can developed a can that was
pressurized and had a special coating to prevent the
fizzy beer from chemically reacting with the tin.
The concept of canned beer proved to be a hard sell,
but Krueger's overcame its initial reservations and
became the first brewer to sell canned beer in the
United States. The response was overwhelming. Within
three months, over 80 percent of distributors were
handling Krueger's canned beer, and Krueger's was
eating into the market share of the "big three"
national brewers--Anheuser-Busch, Pabst and Schlitz.
Competitors soon followed suit, and by the end of
1935, over 200 million cans had been produced and
sold.
The purchase of cans, unlike bottles, did not require
the consumer to pay a deposit. Cans were also easier
to stack, more durable and took less time to chill. As
a result, their popularity continued to grow
throughout the 1930s, and then exploded during World
War II, when U.S. brewers shipped millions of cans of
beer to soldiers overseas. After the war, national
brewing companies began to take advantage of the mass
distribution that cans made possible, and were able to
consolidate their power over the once-dominant local
breweries, which could not control costs and
operations as efficiently as their national
counterparts.
Today, canned beer accounts for approximately half of
the $20 billion U.S. beer industry. Not all of this
comes from the big national
brewers: Recently, there has been renewed interest in
canning from microbrewers and high-end beer-sellers,
who are realizing that cans guarantee purity and taste
by preventing light damage and oxidation.
history.com/tdih.do
argue the Amistad case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.
A practicing lawyer and member of the House of Representatives, John
Quincy Adams was the son of America's second president, founding
father and avowed abolitionist John Adams. Although John Quincy Adams
publicly downplayed his abolitionist stance, he too viewed the
practice as contrary to the nation's core principles of freedom and
equality. After serving one term as president between 1825 and 1829,
Adams was elected to the House of Representatives, in which he served
until his death in 1848. During his tenure, he succeeded in repealing
a rule that prevented any debate about slavery on the House floor.
In 1839, a Spanish slave ship named La Amistad appeared off the coast
of New York. The "slaves" aboard it, who were free Africans kidnapped
in Africa and originally bound for sale in Cuba, had rebelled, killing
the Spanish ship's captain and cook. The African mutineers then
promised to spare the lives of the ship's crew and their captors if
they took them back to Africa. The crew agreed, but then duped the
slaves by sailing up the coast to New York, where they were taken into
custody by the U.S. Navy.
A complicated series of trials ensued regarding the ownership and
outcome of the ship and its human cargo. The capture of the Amistad
occurred in an era in which debate over the institution of slavery,
its legality within the United States and its role in the American
economy became more intense. Although the federal government had ruled
the slave trade between the U.S. and other countries illegal in1808,
the "peculiar institution" persisted in the South and some
northeastern states.
The Navy captains who commandeered the Amistad off the coast of New
York turned the ship in to authorities in Connecticut. In Connecticut
at this time, slavery was still technically legal, a fact that further
complicated the case. Abolitionists filed a suit on behalf of the
Africans against the slave captors for assault, kidnapping and false
imprisonment. Spain, backed by a 1795 anti-piracy treaty with the
U.S., also claimed rights to the Amistad and her cargo. President
Martin Van Buren, personally neutral on the issue of slavery and
concerned about his popularity in southern states, supported Spain's
claim.
After two district courts ruled in favor of the abolitionists,
President Van Buren immediately instructed the U.S. attorney general
to appeal. Abolitionists hired Adams, who some referred to as "Old Man
Eloquent," to argue for the Africans' freedom in the Supreme Court.
In a seven-hour argument that lasted two days, Adams attacked Van
Buren's abuse of executive power. His case deflated the U.S.
attorney's argument that the treaty with Spain should override U.S.
principles of individual rights. In appeasing a foreign nation, Adams
argued that the president committed the "utter injustice [of
interfering] in a suit between parties for their individual rights."
In a dramatic moment, Adams faced the judges, pointed to a copy of the
Declaration of Independence hanging on the courtroom wall, and said
"[I know] no law, statute or constitution, no code, no treaty, except
that law…which [is] forever before the eyes of your Honors."
Adams' skillful arguments convinced the court to rule in favor of
returning the Africans to their native country, but later, President
Tyler refused to allocate federal funds to send the Africans back to
Africa. Instead, the abolitionists had to raise money to pay for the
expense.
history.com/tdih.do
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Check out what else happened on This Day In History
historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=leadstory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is one that I missed from a month ago...............Scott
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 24:
1935 : First canned beer goes on sale
Canned beer makes its debut on this day in 1935. In
partnership with the American Can Company, the
Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company delivered 2,000 cans
of Krueger's Finest Beer and Krueger's Cream Ale to
faithful Krueger drinkers in Richmond, Virginia.
Ninety-one percent of the drinkers approved of the
canned beer, driving Krueger to give the green light
to further production.
By the late 19th century, cans were instrumental in
the mass distribution of foodstuffs, but it wasn't
until 1909 that the American Can Company made its
first attempt to can beer. This was unsuccessful, and
the American Can Company would have to wait for the
end of Prohibition in the United States before it
tried again. Finally in 1933, after two years of
research, American Can developed a can that was
pressurized and had a special coating to prevent the
fizzy beer from chemically reacting with the tin.
The concept of canned beer proved to be a hard sell,
but Krueger's overcame its initial reservations and
became the first brewer to sell canned beer in the
United States. The response was overwhelming. Within
three months, over 80 percent of distributors were
handling Krueger's canned beer, and Krueger's was
eating into the market share of the "big three"
national brewers--Anheuser-Busch, Pabst and Schlitz.
Competitors soon followed suit, and by the end of
1935, over 200 million cans had been produced and
sold.
The purchase of cans, unlike bottles, did not require
the consumer to pay a deposit. Cans were also easier
to stack, more durable and took less time to chill. As
a result, their popularity continued to grow
throughout the 1930s, and then exploded during World
War II, when U.S. brewers shipped millions of cans of
beer to soldiers overseas. After the war, national
brewing companies began to take advantage of the mass
distribution that cans made possible, and were able to
consolidate their power over the once-dominant local
breweries, which could not control costs and
operations as efficiently as their national
counterparts.
Today, canned beer accounts for approximately half of
the $20 billion U.S. beer industry. Not all of this
comes from the big national
brewers: Recently, there has been renewed interest in
canning from microbrewers and high-end beer-sellers,
who are realizing that cans guarantee purity and taste
by preventing light damage and oxidation.
history.com/tdih.do
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