Case Study: Integrity and Ethical Focus

Introduction: USS Constellation and the Capture of the Cora The US Navy has had two USS Constellations in its history. The first was a frigate which served until 1853 and was one of the original six frigates authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. The second was commissioned on July 28, 1855. The sloop was designed by John Lenthall and constructed at the Norfolk Navy Yard. She remained in service until her final decommissioning on February 4, 1955. The long career of this ship is filled with great victories and many training exercises but one of the more notable victories was the capture of the Cora off the coast of Africa in September 1860. Explore this document to learn more about the full career of the Constellation.

From 1859 through 1861 the sloop of war Constellation served as the flagship of the U.S. Navy’s Africa Squadron. This squadron had been stationed along the west African coast since 1819 in an attempt to suppress the slave trade. Mostly ineffective due to lack of ships and guns, the squadron did not see much early success. Success of the squadron was not seen until the patrol area was pushed further south. The squadron was able to patrol past the mouth of rivers along the coast where they had most confrontations. The crews would be paid for each captive freed and the captives were released at the nearest port. This led to many reentering slavery due to being recaptured quickly after release. From 1859 to 1861 the squadron had a lot of success capturing 14 slave ships and freeing roughly 4,000 persons from bondage. This included the infamous battle between the USS Constellation and the slaver Cora.

Posted at the mouth of the Congo River in West Africa during September of 1860, the Constellation came into contact with a ship bearing no colors and suspected it to be a “slaver.” After firing warning shots, the unmarked ship fled and the American sloop began pursuit. Even though the vessel, named the Cora, was frantically dumping chains, hatches, and other equipment to increase speed, the ship was ultimately hove to and was boarded. The boarding party quickly subdued the crew of the Cora and took control of the ship. Read this document for an in-depth look at the encounter between the Constellation and the Cora.

After board, 694 enslaved Africans were found in deplorable conditions. Described as being “packed together like so many sheep,” this tragic mass of humanity was deprived of food and water for over 30 hours. Although the awful practice of slavery still existed in 1860, just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, the importation of new captives had been outlawed for over 50 years. The human cargo of the Cora were taken to Monrovia, Liberia where they were cared for and many given apprenticeships in saw mills. The crew of the Constellation was given $25 per enslaved person and the money was split between the crew members according to rank. The remaining crew of the Cora were taken to the U.S. for trial; however, the Captain and First Mate escaped during docking and transfer. The Constellation would continue service during the Civil War and both World Wars, being decommissioned and recommissioned several times as a training vessel until her final decommission in 1955.

In 1968, the USS Constellation was moved to the inner harbor of Baltimore to be restored and opened as a museum. Poor maintenance resulted in dry rot, forcing an additional restoration in 1994. The ship was subsequently reopened to the public in 1999 and is the centerpiece of the historic Baltimore Harbor.

Although originally commissioned as a sloop of war, the Constellation was restored as a frigate in honor of its original design. The ship’s long career was full of action and adventure until its final role as an educational experience for generations to come. Explore this document for pictures of the Constellation and more information about its restoration.

Leadership and Integrity The USMC defines Integrity as “uprightness of character and soundness of moral principles. The quality of truthfulness and honesty.” As we examine leadership traits, integrity proves to be crucial for any soldier, cadet, or civilian. Integrity is commonly referred to as “how you act when no one is looking”. The integrity of the crews serving in the African Squadron can be considered a great example. These individuals were tasked with hunting slave ships during the height of tension caused by slavery. The African Squadron was intended to fight the slave trade but was sent with little resources to do this. For the majority of the squadron’s existence, they were unable to be effective at capturing slave ships and tampering down the trade. The USS Constellation had other ideas and captured a staggering amount of ships comparatively and became much more effective at slowing the trade.

The African Squadron had a noble mission and fulfilling this mission took incredible courage and integrity. In a time when it would have been easy for the crews to become wealthy off allowing ships to pass with little oversight from the federal government, these men chose to stand by their orders. They showed the integrity needed to vcomplete their job and to continue to suppress the slave trade as much as possible. Being honest and having great character is important for cadets so they are able to be viewed as upstanding and trustworthy. If a cadet is seen as having poor character, they will be overlooked for achievements and will not be able to succeed. Even without supervision it is important to remain on task having high integrity. An example given by the USMC is completing an obstacle course without supervision but with correct technique. Your word is your bond and having great integrity will prove to be advantageous to the cadet. View this video by the USMC about integrity for more practice.

It is good practice to always do “the right thing” even when no one will know the difference.

This will allow the cadet to rain themselves to be trustworthy at all times and to model proper behavior for younger cadets or siblings. Integrity will set the best leaders apart and will help cadets gain the traits needed to be great leaders in life. Read this article from The Economist for more explanation on the importance of integrity.

Ethical Focus: Developing Ethical Identity and Integrity Ethical focus is characterized by prioritizing ethical action over other goals and needs. This mean an individual values identification or motivational thinking in their actions. They will evaluate each action and take the one that is most ethical regardless of their own wants or needs. Leaders who master ethical focus will be able to prioritize goals to be ethically sound and provide the best example of ethical decision-making. When the Constellation captured the Cora, the crew could have taken the ship and traded the captives at a port for a high profit. They would have had the opportunity to become very wealthy with relative ease but they chose to follow the law by releasing the captives. They further showed their integrity by taking them to Liberia rather than the conventional practice of releasing them at the mouth of the Congo river where they would likely be recaptured and sold into slavery once more.

It was important to attempt to stop the slave trade at the source in Africa but the trade was still alive and well back home. This seemingly contradictory policy shows the tension that had been building up to the Civil War. The U.S had made it policy to stop the trade into the country but slave owners only saw this as a minor setback and quickly sought other ways to increase their workforce. Even with this practice growing, the African Squadron continued to follow orders and do what they could to stop the slave trade until the outbreak of the Civil War which finally ended the barbaric practice.

This skill is essential to developing how you prioritize your ethical decisions. It is important for the cadet to develop this skill in order to maintain the ability to make ethical decisions and to remain ethical in nature. The crew of the Constellation showed great integrity by giving the captives freedom and a chance to live a normal life. Cadets will not be faced with this decision, but they will face many ethical problems throughout life and developing the ability to prioritize what needs to be done, and when, will allow them to rise above others in leadership and ethics decision-making. Self-regulation in ethics is essential to success and maintaining ethical actions will allow the cadet to develop their integrity in a positive way.

Response Questions 1. What ethical behaviors did the crew of the Constellation display?

2. Why is developing integrity important for everyone?

3. What would be a consequence of a cadet having poor integrity or character?

4. How is having good integrity an example of positive ethical behavior?