TWELVE ANGRY MEN

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

• President: Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican)

• New York City Mayor: Robert F. Wagner Jnr.

NEW YORK, 1957

• United Nations Building

• There were many immigrants from Germany, Italy, Poland, etc. post-WWII

• At the same time, the Civil Rights Movement was gaining momentum, with Brown vs. Board of Education 1954 and the Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955-6.

COLD WAR• The USA and USSR had fought together in WWII

but by 1945, ideological tensions were rising• The USA decided the best strategy was

containment – ensuring the Communist threat did not spread any further

• Both sides were building up their nuclear weapons, and eventually had enough to destroy the world

• Thus, “cold war” – no direct fighting but a tense standoff

• The Cold War was part of the daily life of Americans throughout the 1950s and 1960s

• Many built fallout shelters in their backyards

MCCARTHYISM• The HUAC (House of Un-American Activities

Committee) tried suspected communists and communist sympathisers

• These trials were publicly broadcast: “Are you now or have you ever been a Communist?”

• Joseph McCarthy was determined to rid the country of left-wing sympathisers, and targeted those who worked in the entertainment industry

• Rose acknowledged: “In a way, almost everything I wrote in the fifties was about McCarthy.”

ROSENBERGS

• On 29th March 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage

• 2 years later they were executed• According to accounts, the jury spent a lot of

time trying to convince a single juror who was doubtful of Ethel’s guilt

• Many Americans were sympathetic, concerned for their two young sons, aged 3 and 7

SPACE RACE

• On October 4 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik – the first man made object to be launched into the Earth’s orbit

• A year later, Eisenhower created NASA

BASEBALL• In 1957, the New York Giants moved to San

Francisco and the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles

• This left New York without a National League team (Yankees play in the American League)

US LEGAL SYSTEM• Originally, all juries had 12 members and decisions

had to be unanimous• Until 1968, only white men who owned property

were allowed to sit on a jury• Poor defendants had to be provided with a

defence lawyer, free of charge, by the government

BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT• A person is innocent until proven guilty ie. the

burden of proof is on the prosecution• The prosecution’s evidence must prove that

there is no other logical explanation than the defendant committed the crime

• If the jurors have no doubt, or only unreasonable doubt, then the defendant should be found guilty

• If there is a reasonable alternative possible, the defendant can be found not guilty

KEY TERMS

• PROTAGONIST HOMICIDE• ANTAGONIST INTIMIDATE• ACQUITTAL JURY• APPALL PREMEDITATED• BIGOT PROOF• DEFENDANT PROSECUTION• DOGGED SADISM• EVIDENCE SUBSERVIENT• TESTIMONY UNANIMOUS• VERDICT PREJUDICE

CHARACTERSFOREMAN: responsible for organisation of jury, assistant high school football coach

2nd Juror: bank clerk, shy at first

3rd Juror: small business owner. Bad relationship with his own son (no longer speak). This is a contributing factor to his prejudice against the defendant

• 4th Juror: stockbroker, wears glasses, very serious and logical

• 5th Juror: works in a hospital, has lived in the slums his entire life

• 6th Juror: house painter, happy for case to continue as he does not have to work

• 7th Juror: concerned about getting to a baseball game. Sells marmalade

• 8th Juror: discontent with handling of trial, wants to discuss evidence in detail. Architect

• 9th Juror: old man, respects 8th Juror’s passion and sense of justice

• 10th Juror: tactless, bigoted, condemns defendant as “one of them”

• 11th Juror: German immigrant watchmaker, patriotic, loves American justice system

• 12th Juror: marketing agent. Constantly distracted from the case

INNOCENT VS NOT GUILTY

• What is the difference?