- Amistad 1 trial. The court ruled that their enslavement violated the 1808 ban on the international slave trade. Feb 23, 2006 · Results of the Acute Myocardial Infarction STudy of ADenosine (AMISTAD II) trial were recently reported by Ross et al. Feb 12, 1998 · On Friday, December 12th, Dreamworks latest movie, Amistad, opened in major markets nationwide. 518; 10 L. Mar 18, 2025 · Additionally, the MHS holds some of the papers of Joseph Story, a justice on the US Supreme Court during the Amistad trial, and the Noyes Family Papers, which contains a detailed description of the case. (15 Pet. links, documents. Jun 2, 2021 · In February of 1839, Portuguese slave hunters abducted a large group of Africans from Sierra Leone and shipped them to Havana, Cuba, a center for the slave trade. The Amistad revolt In January 1839, 53 African natives were kidnapped from eastern Africa and sold into the Spanish slave trade. The Amistad Case: John Quincy Adams' request for papers relating to the lower court trials of the Amistad Africans, January 23, 1841 Court. Supreme Court in the Amistad case. Captain Ferrer had on board Antonio, a slave; Ruiz had forty-nine negroes; Montez had four negroes, which were claimed by them as slaves, and stated to be their property, in passports or FILM DESCRIPTION: This Steven Spielberg-directed exploration into a long-ago episode in African-American history recounts the trial that followed the 1839 rebellion aboard the Spanish slave ship Dec 29, 2009 · 3. ) 518 (1841), was a United States Supreme Court case resulting from the rebellion of Africans on board the Spanish schooner La Amistad in 1839. The African slaves were placed in the custody of the U. The question of whether the Africans were property was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court in United States v. 518 JANUARY, 1841 Term Justice Joseph Story, author of the Supreme Court opinion in the Amistad case PRIOR HISTORY OF Jul 1, 2014 · The Amistad Case for kids Abolitionists demanded a trial which took place in 1841. The Amistad on March 9, 1841, was a pivotal moment in American legal history, addressing issues of slavery, international law, and human rights. The Amistad Captives: Freedom on Trial In 1840, all eyes were on Connecticut. In the New Haven harbor was the naval schooner Grampus, sent there by President Van Buren to sail the Amistads back to Cuba should the court rule, as expected, in the government's favor. The court’s opinion, delivered on 9 March, ruled that the Africans were free and could return home. S. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Trial, Slave Ship Tecora, Amistad and more. court. It illustrates an important moment in American history when enslaved Africans won legal freedom. Civil trials, with rare exceptions, were heard by the District Court. Dec 10, 1997 · In 1839, the slave ship Amistad set sail from Cuba to America. Jul 31, 2024 · The Amistad case of 1841 was a landmark U. Welcome to Famous Trials, the Web’s largest and most visited collection of original essays, trial transcripts and exhibits, maps, images, and other materials relating to the greatest trials in world history. This landmark trial, which unfolded in 1839, not only tested the resilience of the American legal system but also underscored the complexities surrounding the issue of slavery. The first Amistad trial concerned the criminal charges of murder, mutiny, and piracy against the Africans of the Amistad. Ragsdale Enlarge Sengbe Pieh (Cinque), leader of the revolt aboard the Amistad, in an 1839 portrait. Had the court been able to hear directly from the captives, the outcome might have been different. Jul 2, 2014 · How the Amistad Rebellion, and Its Extraordinary Trial, Unfolded The 1839 mutiny, led by an African rice farmer known as Cinqué, galvanized the abolitionist movement. com can expand and update its library of landmark cases and, at the same time, support the next generation of legal minds from UMKC School of Law. Several weeks into the slave-raiding trip, the 53, along with 500 other captured Africans were loaded on to the Tecora, a Dec 10, 1997 · Steven Spielberg's drama on the kidnapping of 53 Africans held captive on the Spanish slave ship La Amistad who fight for their freedom during passage to the new world, and in the courtrooms of a young country embattled over the insidious slave trade. During the long trip, Cinque leads the slaves in an unprecedented uprising. After a pre-trial hearing, the blacks were sent to New Haven, the only nearby town with a jail big enough to hold all forty-three of them. 1814, Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate—died ?) was an enslaved African who led a revolt on the Amistad coastal slave ship in 1839. As in the AMISTAD I trial (2), most of the conclusions were at best equivocal, although subgroup analysis each time suggested adenosine might be useful as an adjunct to reperfusion therapy in certain patients with acute myocardial infarction. Amistad is a 1997 American historical drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the events in 1839 aboard the Spanish slave ship La Amistad, during which Mende tribesmen abducted for the slave trade managed to gain control of their captors' ship off the coast of Cuba, and the international legal battle that followed their capture by the Some slave revolts were successful in that those Africans who survived the insurrection were repatriated to Africa; Despite language barriers, Cinqué, as well as his fellow Africans on board the slave ship, Amistad, told their story and were eventually given back their freedom; There were respected and knowledgeable Americans who knew that slavery was wrong and worked toward freeing African Mar 7, 2016 · The civil trial in Amistad case began in U. (Library of Congress) On August 29, 1839, a lone West African man named Sengbe Pieh stood in shackles before a special session of the U. The Amistad incident placed Van Buren in a precarious situation. Dedicated in 1992, this three-sided relief statue tells the story of the Amistad Revolt and is located where the New Haven Jail was once located-the place where these rebel slaves had been held prior to the Supreme Court trial that led to their release. Source: This timeline was derived from a timeline featured in the pamphlet “John Quincy Adams and the Amistad Event” produced by Adams National Historical Park. Eventually, John Quincy The Amistad Memorial in New Haven, Connecticut, is a bronze sculpture created by Ed Hamilton to recognize the events of the 1839 Amistad Affair. The echoes of this legal saga continue to […] Create a mock trial in which students prepare arguments in Federal District Court representing the captain of the American ship that intercepted the Amistad, the two Spanish officers, and the Spanish government. Dec 12, 2019 · The Amistad trial reinvigorated the debate over the limits, if any, to slavery in the United States. Our state was at the center of an international court case about slavery and […] The Amistad: The Mende Slave Revolt A group of enslaved Africans, who broke free of their captors, enter a federal court proceeding that will determine whether slave property rights are protected by federal law. He had received a direct request from the Spanish government to return the African captives to Cuba, and if he allowed the trial to move forward he risked losing the support of Southern voters on whom he depended for reelection. House of Representatives, still the only former president to do so, Adams demanded in a resolution that President Van Buren “provide the diplomatic and official papers touching on the Amistad,” according to Traub. This abduction violated all of the treaties then in existence. Events following the revolt raise controversial This Steven Spielberg-directed exploration into a long-ago episode in African-American history recounts the trial that followed the 1839 rebellion aboard the Spanish slave ship Amistad and The legacies of the Amistad remain timely from the importance of translators to accurately document testimonies within the criminal justice system to the necessity of interracial organizing for racial justice, to the power of the arts to raise awareness and shape collective memory. 19, 1839 with U. It also served as an example of the evolving strategies for abolitionists confronting slavery as the 1800s progressed. Donations from the Abolitionist Movement helped the 35 survivors to return to Sierra Leone in 1842. Amistad is a recreation of the true story about an 1839 slave revolt on a small Spanish schooner, La Amistad, ironically the Spanish word for “friendship. It became renowned in July 1839 for a slave revolt by Mende captives who had been captured and sold to European slave traders and illegally transported by a Portuguese ship from West Africa to Cuba, in violation of European treaties against the Aug 23, 2017 · The Amistad Mutiny occurred on the Spanish schooner La Amistad on July 2, 1839. THE UNITED STATES, APPELLANTS, v. ” Spielberg does a great job in recreating the Amistad revolt that spurred a series of trials beginning in the lower courts of Connecticut and ultimately ending in the Supreme Court. Mar 16, 2022 · Adams returned to the court on 1 March to conclude his argument on behalf of the Amistad Africans and spoke for another four hours. Today, the memorial serves as a lasting reminder of the courage of the Mende Africans and their impact on American history. John Sartain (1808 Civil trials, with rare exceptions, were heard by the District Court. Featuring former President John Quincy Adams, the film highlights moral dilemmas that continue to plague the judiciary. Filmed in New England and Puerto Rico, the 152-minute drama opens with a pre-credit sequence showing Cinque (Djimon Hounsou) and the Lewis Tappan, more than any other person, was responsible for the Supreme Court victory that eventually resulted in the Africans of the Amistad being able to sail back to their homeland in West Africa. The case involved a group of Africans who had been illegally enslaved, transported across the Atlantic, and later seized control of the vessel carrying them. They were then placed aboard a Spanish slave ship bound for Havana, Cuba. Title page of John Quincy Adams’ Amistad argument before the Supreme Court, 1841 This Steven Spielberg-directed exploration into a long-ago episode in African-American history recounts the trial that followed the 1839 rebellion aboard the Spanish slave ship Amistad and A golden sculpture of Cinqué is located outside the Old State House in Hartford, Connecticut, where the first part of the Amistad series of trial and appeals was held. President Martin Van Buren agreed with Spain out of fear of inflaming tensions, but Secretary of State John Forsyth THE UNITED STATES, APPELLANTS, v. Holabird urged first that the captives should be returned under a U. The AMISTAD II study corroborates the findings of the first AMISTAD study (2); it verifies that, as in animals (3), myocardial reperfusion injury significantly contributes to final infarct size in humans The Amistad civil trial began on November 19, 1839 in Hartford. The African Captives, Trial of the Prisoners of the Amistad on the Writ of Habeas Corpus, Before the Circuit Court of the United States, for the District of Connecticut, at Hartford; Judges Thompson and Judson. Schooner Amistad, 40 U. President and descendant of American revoluti Feb 23, 2006 · The Acute Myocardial Infarction STudy of ADenosine (AMISTAD II) is a pivotal trial having major clinical implications for the treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (1). marshalls until the end of the trial. com: With your help, Famous-Trials. Fisher examines the history of African American slavery through a dramatic mock trial based on the Amistad case in 1839. Essay, images. The ship was piloted to New London, Connecticut, for a trial concerning the rights and ownership of the ship and its cargo. revenue cutter. In the New Haven harbor was the naval schooner Grampus, sent there by President Van Buren to sail the Amistad s back to Cuba should the court rule, as expected, in the government's favor. In the trial before the Supreme Court, the Africans were represented by John Quincy Adams, a former U. The case is a watershed moment for America-Spain relations, and reveals the political machinations as it holds repercussions on the North-South conflict eventually leading Donate to Famous-Trials. Adams was a leading opponent of slavery and had previously argued before the Supreme Court, and was thus seen as the perfect candidate. Compare the arguments before the Supreme Court of the Van Buren administration and John Quincy Adams. THE LIBELLANTS AND CLAIMANTS OF THE SCHOONER AMISTAD, HER TACKLE, APPAREL, AND FURNITURE, TOGETHER WITH HER CARGO, AND THE AFRICANS MENTIONED AND DESCRIBED IN THE SEVERAL LIBELS AND CLAIMS, APPELLEES. abolitionists succeeded in winning a trial in a U. Ragsdale [table striped="true" responsive="true"] Read a larger version. John Quincy Adams was seen as the perfect candidate to represent the Mende Africans before the Supreme Court. The Amistad. In his eighth–grade U. In 1839, federal criminal trials were heard by the Circuit Court, presided over by a justice of the U. [1] It was an unusual freedom suit that involved international diplomacy as well as United States law. After several weeks, the Amistad was seized by the U. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Oct 27, 2009 · On March 9, 1841, the Supreme Court ruled 7-1 to uphold the lower courts’ decisions in favor of the Africans of the Amistad. This story, long known to New Haveners, is now familiar to anyone who has seen Steven Spielberg’s movie Amistad. This Steven Spielberg-directed exploration into a long-ago episode in African-American history recounts the trial that followed the 1839 rebellion aboard the This plea was entered in the first Amistad trial. Former President John Quincy Adams helped convince a southern-dominated court in March 1841 to release the enslaved people in the Amistad case. Supreme Court decision where Africans, illegally enslaved and transported aboard the Spanish schooner Amistad, were freed. “Pesci's first novel is a well-researched fictionalization of the Amistad rebellion and trials. Jesse Greenspan The Amistad Trial, also known as United States v. Now serving as a congressman in the U. The captives’ fate rested on his ability to successfully present their case to the Supreme Court. He was later taken into custody in the United States but was freed by a decision of the U. The revolt came to be known as the Amistad mutiny. Supreme Court. Judge Smith Thompson presided as the criminal trial began on September 19, 1839. Four days earlier, a federal court in Los Angeles denied a motion to enjoin the film, pending a trial to determine whether or not characters, scenes, and other aspects of Amistad were illegally copied from the 1988 book, Echo of Lions. The case was Dec 13, 2017 · The Amistad Captives and the Federal Courts Spring 2003, Vol. Amistad, by David Pesci (Shooting Star Press). Nov 29, 2018 · Trial of the Century: La Amistad In February of 1839, Portuguese slave hunters abducted a large group of Africans from Sierra Leone and shipped them to Havana, Cuba, a center for the slave trade. Supreme Court before Justice Joseph Story. Cinqué is believed to have been born Sengbe Pieh in the Mende region of . In 1839, the Spanish schooner Amistad (which means friendship) was carrying slaves illegally captured in Africa, up the east coast of the United States. A Legacy of Courage and Justice The Amistad case was a turning point in the abolitionist movement, demonstrating the power of resistance and legal advocacy in the fight against slavery. Lewis Tappan, more than any other person, was responsible for the Supreme Court victory that eventually resulted in the Africans of the Amistad being able to sail back to their homeland in West Africa. Much of the story revolves a courtroom drama as lawyers for the slaves seek their freedom and return home. La Amistad (pronounced [la a. When Spain’s foreign minister learned of the Amistad’s seizure, he claimed that the ship and its cargo were being held in violation of a 1795 pact between the United States and Spain and demanded the return of the ship and its cargo, the enslaved Mende peoples. Robert Hayden 's poem Middle Passage incorporates accounts of the revolt on La Amistad and the subsequent trial. public $MetaDesc = Jul 5, 2019 · Overview of the Amistad Revolt This clip was filmed in Connecticut's (CT) Old State House, the site of the first Amistad trials. He ruled that the Africans were free individuals, and had never been slaves. In the annals of American legal history, few cases resonate with the profound implications of United States v. It lobbed the country into a debate about slavery, freedom, and the meaning of citizenship. Ed. Judge Andrew Judson Original essays, maps, trial transcript, chronology, court decisions, biographical sketches, images, and other materials relating to the Amistad trials. Based on the true story of a significant moment during America's slave trade in 1839, aboard the slave ship, Amistad. Fi y-three Africans were purchased by two Spanish planters and put aboard the Cuban schooner Amistad for shipment to a Caribbean The Amistad Case, 1839 When the Spanish cargo schooner La Amistad came aground off the coast of Long Island, New York in August 1839, the United States found itself with an explosive legal and diplomatic case that would pit the American system’s ability to provide justice for all on its shores against the federal government’s ability to enforce its treaty obligations where the jurisdiction Jun 4, 2019 · While it began more outside the US, the Amistad Case of 1840 remains one of the most dramatic and meaningful legal battles in America’s history. The incident began In February 1839 when Portuguese slave hunters illegally seized 53 Africans in Sierra Leone, a British colony, whom they intended to sell in the Spanish colony of Cuba. Feb 9, 2010 · The story of the Amistad mutiny garnered widespread attention, and U. The Case of the Amistad 1839-1841 Learn with flashcards, games, and more — for free. They are then held prisoner in Connecticut, and their release becomes the subject of heated debate. By day, at the Africans’ orders, two surviving whites sailed the slave ship east toward Africa Nov 25, 2017 · On November 25, 1841, 35 former slaves returned home to West Africa, after a Supreme Court hearing, won by a former United States president, secured their freedom. The Amistad Case Gary Fisher is a teacher at Timilty Middle School in the urban community of Roxbury, Massachusetts, part of the greater Boston area. treaty with Spain, but that if the court ruled for their freedom, they should be returned to their homeland. Libellants and Claimants of the Schooner Amistad, was a United States Supreme Court case resulting from the rebellion of slaves on board the Spanish schooner Amistad in 1839 (Jones). The Amistad incident and the subsequent Supreme Court case have been described as the most important legal ruling case involving slavery This is the majority opinion of the U. In this document, U. (1). Trial history of The Amistad Case NOTE: There were two Amistad trials, one criminal and one civil. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. The Amistad Affair Jul 31, 2017 · The Amistad Committee approached former President and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams and asked him to argue the defense before the Supreme Court. Freed slave Theodore Joadson wants Cinque and the others exonerated and recruits property lawyer Roger Baldwin to help his case. The Amistad: A Detailed Timeline Nov 18, 2022 · The Amistad Captives and the Federal Courts Spring 2003, Vol. Feb 20, 2022 · The Amistad Trials The first trial took place in Hartford in September 19, 1839, but Covey was too ill to attend. He had extensive experience within the government, had argued before the Supreme Court, negotiated international treaties, and abhorred slavery. A case in which the Court held that the alleged slaves that revolted on The Amistad were free Africans and not the property of Spanish citizens. Oct 11, 2016 · For millions of Americans, understanding of the remarkable story of the Africans of the schooner Amistad comes not from school or reading historical non-fiction, but rather from the mind of Steven Spi A history of the Amistad captives : being a circumstantial account of the capture of the Spanish schooner Amistad, by the Africans on board; their voyage, and capture near Long Island, New York : with biographical sketches of each of the surviving Africans; also, an account of the trials had on their case, before the district and circuit courts of the United States, for the District of The Trial of the Amistad Captives The case of the Amistad was argued in the U. The Amistad civil trial began on November 19, 1839 in Hartford. T he Amistad was a Spanish schooner taken over by a group of captured Africans seeking to escape impending slavery in Cuba. The defending counsel of the 35 surviving slaves in the Amistad Case was John Quincy Adams who successfully argued that the men should be freed. It led to a historically significant United States Supreme Court case, in which the Amistad captives were ruled to be acting in self-defense, thereby granting Amistad is a 1997 American historical drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the events in 1839 aboard the Spanish slave ship La Amistad, during which Mende tribesmen abducted for the slave trade managed to gain control of their captors' ship off the coast of Cuba, and the international legal battle that followed their capture by the Washington, a U. Attorney William S. This essay tells Tappan's story. Defended by former President John Quincy Adams, the case garnered significant attention and bolstered the abolitionist movement. Navy off the coast of Long Island and the Africans were transported to New Haven to await trial for mutiny, murder, and piracy. The Spanish schooner Amistad, on the 27th day of June, 1839, cleared out from Havana, in Cuba, for Puerto Principe, in the same island, having on board, Captain Ferrer, and Ruiz and Montez, spanish subjects. The portraits listed below follow their order of appearance in the text: John Quincy Adams,1767-1848 Sixth President of the United States George Caleb Bingham, 1811-1879 Oil on canvas, 1793 Cinque,1817?-1879? Insurrectionist and leader of the Mendians. Jul 1, 2022 · After enslaved people revolted and took control of the Amistad in 1839, Americans captured the ship off Long Island and imprisoned the enslaved in New Haven. Libellants of Schooner Amistad in 1841. This site is open to the public Jan 1, 2012 · Amistad Elimination Round 1 A look at the first group of eight anglers battling it out while learning a new format. District Judge Andrew Judson presiding. misˈtað]; Spanish for The Friendship) was a 19th-century two-masted schooner owned by a Spaniard living in Cuba. The Spanish schooner Amistad, on the 27th day of June, 1839, cleared out from Havana, in Cuba, for Puerto Principe, in the same island, having on board Captain Ferrer, and Ruiz and Montez, Spanish subjects. Oct 12, 2024 · The trial captured in the Amistad film serves as a microcosm of the complexities inherent in the American legal system surrounding slavery. Joseph Cinqué (born c. Lesson Plan | Narrative of Amistad Incident | Timeline of Abolitionism | Document Essay In June 1839, four months after they had been forcibly enslaved and illegally shipped to Cuba, 53 African captives revolted as they were being transported on the schooner Amistad from Havana to Guanaja, Cuba. United States v. After two days of testimony, the trial was adjourned until January 7, 1840. Martin Van Buren was President of the United States during the Amistad trial. Justice Joseph Story delivered the majority opinion, writing that Create a mock trial in which students prepare arguments in federal district court representing the captain of the American ship that intercepted the Amistad, the two Spanish officers, and the Spanish government. Amistad mutiny, (July 2, 1839), slave rebellion that took place on the slave ship Amistad near the coast of Cuba and had important political and legal repercussions in the American abolition movement. 35, No. Testimony in the district court trial proved that the Mende on the Amistad arrived in Cuba in June 1839, and under Spanish law, no Africans transported to Spanish territory after 1820 could be enslaved. U. 1 By Bruce A. They dropped anchor outside Long Island on August 26. Six years earlier, Judson, as a state attorney, had prosecuted Prudence Crandall for opening a school for black girls in Canterbury, Connecticut. Donate to Famous-Trials. S District Court in Hartford on Nov. Van Buren was born in Original essays, maps, trial transcript, chronology, court decisions, biographical sketches, images, and other materials relating to the Amistad trials. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 40 U. Their fight for freedom led to a The National Portrait Gallery's permanent collection contains images of several of the participants in the Amistad episode. Adams and a prominent attorney, Roger Baldwin, agreed to represent the enslaved Africans Mar 8, 2025 · The U. The Spanish AmbassadorCalderon de la Barca makes a formal request to the United States Department of State that the Africans be returned to their rightful owners in Cuba, or extradited to Spain to stand trial for piracy, mutiny, and murder. Aug 15, 2025 · The Amistad Seizure (also known as the Amistad Incident, the Amistad Rebellion, the Amistad Mutiny, and Amistad Revolt) was a conflict aboard the Spanish schooner La Amistad in July 1839, off the coast Jan 4, 2019 · The Amistad Case in Fact and Film Brief Narrative of the Amistad Incident History of the Amistad Captives Expansion: The Amistad Case History of the Amistad Trials Instead, the pair steered the ship along the coast of the United States. history class, Mr. Sep 18, 2025 · Adams was an abolitionist, and he followed the Amistad trial with keen interest. Serving as the defense, prosecution, judges, and other historical characters in The Amistad Case, 1839The Amistad Case, 1839 When the Spanish cargo schooner La Amistad came aground off the coast of Long Island, New York in August 1839, the United States found itself with an explosive legal and diplomatic case that would pit the American system's ability to provide justice for all on its shores against the federal government's ability to enforce its treaty obligations The Amistad Affair case raised critical issues of law and justice: whether captives had a right to rebel against their captors and whether American courts have jurisdiction over crimes committed outside this country. The mutineers were captured and tried in the United States, and a surprising victory for the Oct 9, 2025 · The African Captives, Trial of the Prisoners of the Amistad on the Writ of Habeas Corpus, Before the Circuit Court of the United States, for the District of Connecticut, at Hartford; Judges Thompson and Judson. Thus the hope was raised that This Steven Spielberg-directed exploration into a long-ago episode in African-American history recounts the trial that followed the 1839 rebellion aboard the Spanish slave ship Amistad and captures the complex political maneuverings set in motion by the event. The affair was a kidnapping of 53 Africans and their subsequent mutiny aboard La Amistad. 826 JANUARY, 1841 Term Prior history of the case Syllabus (summary of issues and relevant law) of the Oct 23, 2017 · The Amistad Story The National Park Service invites you to travel the Amistad. Slavery advocates held that the Amistad prisoners were slaves and thus they should be punished for their uprising and immediately returned to Cuba. 3. S. Amistad Trials (1839-1840) The improbable voyage of the schooner Amistad, and the court proceedings and diplomatic maneuverings that resulted from that voyage, form one of the most significant stories of the nineteenth century. sh nxlp pudo2h sr5ra1a 637bal xqdp zra jg4vli 2oj1ya hrlu