Passive Resistance, The Insanity Plea, Civil Disobedience, and Mob Rule

1. Passive Resistance, The Insanity Plea, Civil Disobedience, and Mob Rule A Critical Presentation by: Vanessa Arnold & Annie newberry

2. Literary and Legal Terms Transcendentalism: A literary and philosophical movement “based on the premise that truth is innate in all of creation and that knowledge of it is intuitive rather than rational.” Satire: “A literary technique that attacks foolishness by making fun of it. Most good satires work through a ‘fiction’ that is clearly transparent.” Aphorisms: Short quips from a larger work that are often repeated or valued for their simple, yet wise counsel.

3. United States vs. Cruikshank (1876) This Supreme Court case occurred during the Reconstruction period in the South and deals with mob rule. After a very heated gubernatorial election in Colfax, Louisiana, an angry white mob brutally murdered over one hundred African Americans. This became known as the Colfax Massacre. The three leaders of the mob were convicted under the Federal Enforcement Act of 1870 which was supposed to ensure that all citizens were guaranteed their constitutional rights. The white leaders promptly appealed their case to the Supreme Court. All nine judges voted to overturn this decision on the grounds that the mob had “the freedom of assembly”, “the right to bear arms” and that “Due Process” and “Equal Protection” (that were supposed to be offered under the 14th Amendment) only protected an individual from the state and not other people (Common Sense America). The Supreme Court then turned the case back to Louisiana.

4. “Civil Disobedience” • Thoreau practices passive resistance in “Civil Disobedience” by refusing to pay taxes that he knows would indirectly go to support the Mexican American War and possibly slavery. • He advocates for civil disobedience with regards to government and unjust laws when he calls upon people to do what is right, not necessarily what the government or majority is telling them to do. • “Civil Disobedience” has influenced many prominent peace makers such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

5. Civil Disobedience Background “Under a government which imprisons unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.” -Henry David Thoreau As a transcendentalist, Thoreau believed that sticking up for his morals was necessary; even when his morals conflicted with government requirements. Because of this strong commitment to conscience, Thoreau declined to pay taxes for several years due to the fact that they helped fund unjust causes such slavery and the Mexican War.

6. Catonsville Nine - On May 17, 1968 a small group consisting of nine members entered the Selective Service office in Catonsville, Maryland. They breezed past workers and seized more than one hundred A-1 draft records which they then took outside and immediately ignited with napalm. Civil Disobedience in Action

7. History of the Insanity Plea M’Naghten Rules (1843): “Every man is to be presumed to be sane, and ... that to establish a defense on the ground of insanity, it must be clearly proved that, at the time of the committing of the act, the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of mind, and not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong.”(as qtd. in Perlin 44)

8. History of the Insanity Plea Contd. Durham Rule (1954): Established that in order to be found not guilty by reason of insanity, the defendant must not only be proven mentally unstable, but also that the crime committed was a result of the defendant’s mental instability. Insanity Defense Reform Act (1981): Shifted the burden of proof from the government to the defendant and put strict limitations on expert testimony in insanity cases.

9. Critical Thinking Questions If a law defies a person’s morals or beliefs, is disregarding that law justified? What would Thoreau say about an unjust law? What do you think of the statement made by the judge of the Catonsville Nine trial, “Liberty cannot exist unless it is restrained and restricted.”? Do you think the insanity plea is legitimate? Why or why not?