Abolitionism

Abolitionism Sebastian Scheerer Padova 13 July 2013 9-13; 14-18

1 The Concept Where does the term abolitionism come from? And what does it mean exactly? The term goes back to the Latin verb abolēre (aboleō) meaning to do away with wholly, to nullify, to abolish. The noun abolitio was also used in Roman law to designate the lifting of criminal prosecution during the process. Whereas the abolitio privata had only limited relevance, the abolitio publica was comparable to an amnesty – with the difference that an amnesty usually concerns convicted delinquents, whereas an abolition stops the criminal procedure and thus prevents the judge from reaching a verdict. In Roman times, the birthday of the Emperor or the birth of a crown prince or similar joyful occasions could be cause for such an abolitio. In later times, kings used to claim their right to inferfere with criminal procedures at their will. The king of France, e.g., would just write a letter of abolition (lettre d’abolition) to free any of his subjects from prosecution – the opposite being the more infamous lettre de cachet which would send anyone who had angered the king into the dungeon. The nouns abolitionist and abolitionism did not appear until much later. They are linked to demands “from below” against repressive legal institutions that are being seen as utterly unjust by some people who therefore demand their abolition (= abolitionists). The first movement that used these terms was the group around Thomas Clarkson, Granville Sharpe and others who campaigned – starting in 1787 - against the trans-atlantic. Later, other movements also called themselves abolitionist – especially those that vindicated the rights of prostitutes (demanding the abolition of repressive legislation), the end of slavery as a legal institution, the end of capital punishment, prisons, or, even more broadly, the criminal justice system as a whole. What is the common denominator of all these movements and ideologies? Well, in spite of their significant differences, each and every abolitionist movement consists of (a) the demand for an immediate end to a practice which is (b) tolerated or prescribed by the present legal order on the one hand, but (c) seen as a dramatic violation of higher values and normative orders by part of the public and abolitionists. To sum it all up: all abolitionist movements are calling for the immediate end of a legal institution they see as inhumane.

2 Abolitionist Movements in History 2.1 Slavery 2.1.1 Trans-atlantic slave trade. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, slavery had few opponents in England. Indeed, English society valued the slave trade for its significant contribution to the nation’s wealth, and romanticized the adventurous lives of traders on the high seas. In the late eighteenth century, however, Quakers and other religious leaders began to change attitudes toward slavery by drawing attention to the inhumanity and cruelty of the slave trade. One of most effective voices against slavery in England was Thomas Clarkson (1760-1846). Clarkson, along with the abolitionist Granville Sharpe, established the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 1787. To expose the barbarity of the slave trade, Clarkson gathered evidence, such as the tools of torture used on slave ships, and interviewed thousands of slave ship sailors. He also developed powerful allies, such as M.P. William Wilberforce, who used his political influence to lobby for abolitionist causes in Parliament. Clarkson, Granville, Wilberforce, and other activists began spreading their message. They published protest pamphlets, raised funds, and organized public lectures and rallies. Twenty years after the founding of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, their work was partially rewarded by the passage of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807. This act prohibited Great Britain from participating in the transatlantic slave trade. (from: “I will be heard” - Origins.) 2.1.2 Slavery Abolitionists employed all manner of strategies to persuade the American public and its leadership to end slavery. One of their first strategies was to unite groups of like-minded individuals to fight as a body. Initially, groups like the American Anti-Slavery Society used lecturing and moral persuasion to attempt to change the hearts and minds of individuals. Many later activists found moral persuasion tactics insufficient and turned their attention to political lobbying. Most famous of all abolitionist activities was the Underground Railroad, a network of assistance and safe houses for runaway slaves. The Underground Railroad stretched from the Southern states to Canada, and until 1865 provided shelter, safety, and guidance for thousands of runaway slaves. Activists used the press to spread the abolitionist message. Newspapers like William Lloyd Garrison’s The Liberator circulated vehement attacks on government sanctioned bondage. Other publications, such as pamphlets and leaflets, contained anti-slavery poems, slogans, essays, sermons, and songs. Abolitionists also looked to future generations to carry on their work, creating a body of children’s literature to bring the harsh realities of slavery before a young audience. These materials were deemed so threatening in slave states that they were outlawed. Still other abolitionists felt that violence was the only way to end slavery. These militants resorted to extreme and deadly tactics, and incited violent insurrections. These acts of terror aroused fear in slaveholders, but also led to the execution of perpetrators (from: “I will be heard” – Strategies). The US abolished slavery on January 31, 1865, by means of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution reading: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Brazil followed in 1888. Today, there is still hidden de facto slavery in many parts of the world, but not a single country officially admits de jure slavery on its territory.

2.2 Prostitution In the 1860s, the British government enacted some so-called Contagious Diseases Acts that were aimed at a repressive control of prostitutes deemed by many a violation of human rights. Since the liberal-minded National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act did not allow women among their ranks, Josephine Butler quickly founded the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts. Both organizations were vigorously supported by the liberal public, since the Acts were seen as violating basic human rights. After a struggle of 16 years, the Acts were repealed. At the beginning and in the course of the 20th century, the legal prostitution regimes were softened and prostitutes gained some legal equality. On the other hand, a different conception arose about what was to be understood as abolitionism in this context. Some feminists argued that prostitution itself had to be abolished. As a consequence, the old and latent conflict between those who advocated civil rights for prostitutes on the one hand, and others who advocated an end to prostitution as such, on the other hand, became more virulent.

2.3 Death Penalty Despite pressure for the abolition of the death penalty, many countries in the world still maintain the death penalty in their criminal codes and in practice.

2.4 Prisons The Quakers, once the inventors of the modern prison, have been at the forefront of questioning the sense of prisons altogether and of searching for better alternatives. The International Conference on Prison Abolition (ICOPA) can be seen as a contemporary attempt to continue abolitionist traditions.

2.5 Criminal Law As a matter of fact, the ICOPA was renamed to encompass an even larger spectrum of demands. Instead of making halt at the demand to abolish prisons, the organization now envisaged to abolish the whole of the criminal justice system, including criminal law and criminal trials. One of the proponents of this enlargement of perspective was Louk Hulsman. Together with Nils Christie and Thomas Mathiesen from Norway, Hulsman is being seen as one of the most influential contemporary abolitionists. Problematic situations instead of crimes? Autonomous conflict resolution instead of state-run trials?

3 Controversies Controversies surrounding the abolitionist agenda today center on the question of idealism, utopianism, and on the question of the rule of law. Some emancipatory movements are investing their hopes into participatory power In the state and legal apparatus, and thus aim at enshrining their beliefs and values in the criminal law instead of abolishing the penal codes. This weakened the abolitionist movement, but the last word has not been spoken on this matter.

5 Literature

Bergalli, Roberto, and Inaki Rivera Beiras, cords. (2012) Louk Hulsman: ¿Qué queda de los abolicionismos? Barcelona: Anthropos. Braithwaite, John (2002) Restorative Justice and Responsive Regulation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Deleuze, Gilles (1990) Das elektronische Halsband (orig.: L'Autre Journal, 1, Mai 1990) http://www.nadir.org/nadir/archiv/netzkritik/postskriptum.html. Hochschild, Adam (2005) Bury the Chains. The British Struggle to Abolish Slavery. New York: Houghton Mifflin 2005. Hulsman, Louk H.C. (1986) Critical criminology and the concept of crime. Contemporary Crises 10: 63-79. Hulsman, Louk, and Jacqueline Bernat de Celis (1982) Peines perdues. Paris: Le Centurion. Mathiesen, Thomas (1974) The Politics of Abolition. London. Mauz, Gerhard (1975) Das Spiel von Schuld und Sühne. Die Zukunft der Strafjustiz. Düsseldorf, Köln. Scheerer, Sebastian (1991) "Abolitionismus". In: R. Sieverts, H.J. Schneider, Hg., Handwörterbuch der Kriminologie. In völlig neu bearb. zweiter Auflage, Band 5, Berlin: de Gruyter: 289-301. Scheerer, Sebastian (1984) Die abolitionistische Perspektive. Kriminologisches Journal 90-111 [1].

6 Weblinks John C. Calhoun (1837) Slavery as a positive Good: http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/slavery-a-positive-good/ „I will be heard“. Origins of Abolitionism (Abolitionism in America. Cornell University) http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/abolitionism/origins.htm “I will be heard” Abolitionist Strategies (William Lloyd Garrison) http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/abolitionism/strategies.htm “I will be heard” The Thirteenth Amendment http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/abolitionism/thirteenth.htm Selling Sex: How abolitionist Feminists are Hurting Sex Workers (2011) http://cchronicle.com/2011/03/selling-sex-how-abolitionist-feminists-are-hurting-sex-workers/ Dempsey, Michelle Madden (2010) SEX TRAFFICKING AND CRIMINALIZATION: IN DEFENSE OF FEMINIST ABOLITIONISM University of Pennsylvania Law Review [Vol. 158: 1729] https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/files/28-dempsey158upalrev17292010pdf Prostitution and the Contagious Diseases Acts (1864, 1866 and 1869), in: HerStoria http://herstoria.com/?p=459