Frederick Douglass Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Frederick Douglass - Essay Example He was orphaned at the age of seven when his mother died and thus was forced look after himself and to mature very quickly, learning to read and write under the tutelage of a woman in Baltimore who eventually purchased him. In 1838, Douglass escaped to New York City, changed his last name to Douglass, and married Maria Bailey, free women whom he had met while still in Baltimore.2 Douglass was privileged to be educated by his owner. However, he suffered the hardships of slavery and oppression firsthand, lending him expertise on the subject that no number of-even highly educated-white men could hope to match. Therefore, his insight on the subject, expressed eloquently through his writing and lectures, became pivotal in the dialogue about slavery and the abolitionist movement. Douglass began lecturing in 1841 and soon after was hired by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society to act as an agent on their behalf. He would spend the rest of his life in that capacity: writing, lecturing and publishing anti-slavery literature. Douglass became free during a point in history in which both the Abolition and the Women's Right's movement were gaining both power, and followers. He was associated with many important figures of the age including, Susan B. Anthony, Abraham Lincoln, and William Lloyd Garrison.3 His contacts, not limited to peers of the same racial background as himself, served as a growing network of potential supporters. At the very least, his rhetoric was disseminated all the more quickly along these liens of communication, ensuring that his ideas-credited to him or not-reached the general public quickly. He not only influenced how the public perceived free people of color, but how they ran the abolition movement, and the women's rights movements, by affecting the manner and one of the discourse. Douglass was known for how vehemently he disagreed with those people he called his friends. A disagreement with William Lloyd Garrison in the 1860's resulted from the inevitable conflict between the demands of Douglass, an African American anti-slavery agent for equal pay and treatment, and Garrisons' political wheeling and dealing. Both Garrison and his assistant Maria-Weston-Chapman would frequently attempt to divert Douglass from his fight for equality by characterizing him as being less than human. Oddly enough this was typical of the anti-slavery movement at the time. African American abolitionists were often relegated to playing small public roles in the abolitionist movement, while their white counterparts spoke with bravado about their upcoming revolt against slavery.4 Douglass, rather than kowtow entirely to this attitude, Douglass kept speaking what he felt to be the truth about slavery, abolition, and the movement toward basic human rights for all people. Had he simply shrunk from his oppressors, surely the tide of change would have been slowed measurably if not stalled. This is not to assign too much importance to one man, but merely to recognize the reaches of his influence at this time. His voice was heard through his speaking and writing by

The Methods of Statutory Interpretation Available to the Judiciary Essay

The Methods of Statutory Interpretation Available to the Judiciary - Essay Example The primary rules are the mischief rule, the literary and the golden rule. The judiciary also uses what is referred to as the purposive approach and typically enter the statutory interpretation process based on a set of presumptions.4 This research study analyses how the judiciary uses these rules, presumptions and the purposive approach for maintain consistency in the application of statutes. Presumptions The judiciary applies presumptions to guide them in the construction of statutes. There are essentially six main presumptions used by the judiciary. The first well known presumption is the presumption that penal laws are interpreted â€Å"strictly in favour of the citizen†.5 In R v Cuthbertson the House of Lords construed the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in favour of the defendant. Under the 1971 Act, forfeiture was permitted in respect of any items the court felt were related to the offence. However, the House of Lords rules that since the provision did not state conspiracy to commit the offence, but rather specified the actual offence, forfeiture would not be permitted for a conspiracy offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.6 Other important presumptions include the presumption that statutes are not meant to alter the common law; statutory criminal offences are typically require the mental element of mens rea; Parliament does not intend to usurp the court’s jurisdiction; and statutes do not have â€Å"retrospective effect†.7 There are also a number of linguistic or language-based presumptions used by the judiciary in the interpretation of statutes. For example, the maxim noscitur a sociis dictates that words â€Å"take meaning from the context†.8 The maxim noscitur a sociis was applied in Muir v Keay in relation to the construction of the Refreshment Houses Act 1860. Under the 1860 Act houses to which the 1860 Act referred were house that provided refreshments, resort and entertainment to the public. It was held that entertainmen t in the context of the 1860 Act could not refer to theatre or music but rather applied to refreshment, reception and accommodations.9 Another instructive maxim related to the language of a statute used by the courts as a guide for the interpretation of statutes is expression unius exclusion alterius which means that: The express mention of one member of a class by implication excludes other members of the same class.10 For instance should a statute use the word â€Å"land† it can be assumed that land includes mines. However, if the word is grouped together with other words such as â€Å"lands, houses and coalmines† it can be assumed that the word land does not refer to any other mines aside from coalmines.11 The maxim ejusedem generis is also used by the judiciary as an aid in the interpretation and application of statutes by reference to the language used. The maxim ejusdem generis presumes that where a statute provides a list of specific words, any general term appe aring at the end of the list will be interpreted by reference to the list of particularized words.12 Maxims are methods of linguistic interpretation that help the