:32:03
It's like anything - land,
livestock, heirlooms, what have you.
:32:08
Livestock.
:32:11
Yes. Consider -
:32:13
the only way one may sell or purchase
slaves is if they are born slaves,
:32:18
as on the plantation.
:32:21
- I'm right, aren't I?
- Yes.
:32:23
- So, are they?
- "Are they?"
:32:26
Yes. Born slaves,
as on a plantation.
:32:30
We're not certain,
but we very much doubt it.
:32:32
Let's say they are.
Then they are possessions,
:32:35
and no more deserving of
a criminal trial than a bookcase.
:32:39
On the other hand,
let's say they aren't slaves,
:32:42
in which case they were
illegally acquired.
:32:45
Forget mutiny, forget piracy,
forget murder.
:32:48
Those are irrelevant occurrences.
:32:50
Ignore everything but
the pre-eminent issue at hand.
:32:54
The wrongful transfer
of stolen goods.
:32:57
Either way, we win.
:32:59
Sir, this war must be waged on
the battlefield of righteousness.
:33:03
The what?
:33:05
It would be against
everything I stand for
:33:09
to let this deteriorate into
an exercise in legal minutia.
:33:13
Mr Tappan, I'm talking about
the heart of the matter.
:33:17
As am I.
:33:18
It is our destiny,
as abolitionists and as Christians,
:33:23
to save these people.
:33:25
These are people, Mr Baldwin,
not livestock.
:33:28
Did Christ hire a lawyer
to get him off on technicalities?
:33:32
He went to the cross, nobly.
You know why?
:33:37
To make a statement.
:33:40
To make a statement, as must we.
:33:45
But Christ lost.
:33:48
- You, I think...
- No, sir, he did not.
:33:50
- You want to win, don't you?
- Yes.
:33:54
I certainly do. Hell, sometimes
I don't get paid unless I do.
:33:58
Which brings us back to
the question of worth.