''United States v. Schooner Amistad'', 40 U.S. (15 Pet.) 518 (1841), was a
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case resulting from the rebellion of Africans on board the Spanish
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
''
La Amistad'' in 1839.
[.] It was an unusual
freedom suit that involved international diplomacy as well as United States law. The historian
Samuel Eliot Morison described it in 1969 as the most important court case involving
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
before being eclipsed by that of
Dred Scott in 1857.
''La Amistad'' was traveling along the coast of
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
on her way to a port for re-sale of the slaves. The Africans,
Mende people
The Mende are one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone; their neighbours, the Temne people, constitute the largest ethnic group at 35.5% of the total population, which is slightly larger than the Mende at 31.2%. The Mende are pred ...
who had been kidnapped in the area of
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
, in
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
, illegally sold into slavery and
shipped to Cuba, escaped their shackles and took over the ship. They killed the captain and the cook; two other crew members escaped in a lifeboat. The Mende directed the two Spanish navigator survivors to return them to Africa. The crew tricked them by sailing north at night. ''La Amistad'' was later apprehended near
Long Island, New York
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...
, by the United States Revenue-Marine (later renamed the
United States Revenue Cutter Service and one of the predecessors of the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
) and taken into custody. The widely-publicized court cases in the
U.S. federal district court and eventually the Supreme Court in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, in 1841, which addressed international issues, helped the
abolitionist movement.
In 1840, a federal district court found that the transport of the kidnapped Africans across the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
on the
Portuguese slave ship ''
Tecora'' was in violation of US laws against slave trade. The captives were ruled to have acted as free men when they fought to escape their kidnapping and illegal confinement. The court ruled the Africans were entitled to take whatever legal measures necessary to secure their freedom, including the use of force. Under international and Southern sectional pressure, U.S. President
Martin Van Buren ordered the case appealed to the Supreme Court. It affirmed the lower district court ruling on March 9, 1841 and authorized the release of the Mende, but it overturned the additional order of the lower court to return them to Africa at government expense. Supporters arranged for temporary housing of the Africans in
Farmington, Connecticut, as well as funds for travel. In 1842, the 35 who wanted to return to Africa, together with U.S. Christian missionaries, were transported by ship to Sierra Leone.
Background
Rebellion at sea and capture
![Sengbe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Sengbe.jpg)
On June 27, 1839, ''
La Amistad'' ("Friendship"), a Spanish vessel, departed from the port of
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. ,
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, for the
Province of Puerto Principe, also in Cuba. The masters of ''La Amistad'' were Captain Ramón Ferrer, José Ruiz, and Pedro Montes, all Spanish nationals. With Ferrer was Antonio, a man enslaved by Ferrer to serve him personally. Ruiz was transporting 49 Africans, who had been entrusted to him by the governor-general of Cuba. Montez held four additional Africans, also entrusted to him by the governor-general.
[''US v. The Amistad''](_blank)
pp. 587–588 As the voyage normally took only four days, the crew had brought four days' worth of rations and had not anticipated the strong headwind that slowed the schooner. On July 2, 1839, one of the Africans,
Joseph Cinqué, freed himself and the other captives using a file that had been found and kept by a woman who, like them, had been on the ''
Tecora'', the
Portuguese ship that had transported them illegally as slaves from West Africa to Cuba.
The
Mende killed the ship's cook, Celestino, who had told them that they were to be killed and eaten by their captors. The Mende also killed Captain Ferrer, and the armed struggle resulted as well in the deaths of two Africans. Two sailors escaped in a lifeboat. The Mende spared the lives of the two Spaniards who could navigate the ship, José Ruiz and Pedro Montez, if they returned the ship east across the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
to Africa. They also spared Antonio, a
creole, and used him as an interpreter with Ruiz and Montez.
The crew deceived the Africans and steered ''La Amistad'' north along the
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...
, where the ship was sighted repeatedly. They dropped anchor half-a-mile off eastern
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, on August 26, 1839, at
Culloden Point
Culloden Point is a small peninsula north of Montauk, New York, that marks the east entrance to Fort Pond Bay from Gardiners Bay.
HMS ''Culloden''
During the American Revolutionary War, the British ship of the line ran aground here early on ...
. Some of the Africans went ashore to procure water and provisions from the hamlet of
Montauk. The vessel was discovered by , a
revenue cutter
A cutter is a type of watercraft. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan) of a sailing vessel (but with regional differences in definition), to a governmental enforcement agency vessel (such as a coast guard or bor ...
of the United States Revenue-Marine (later renamed the
United States Revenue Cutter Service and one of the predecessors of the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
) while ''Washington'' was conducting
hydrographic survey work for the
United States Coast Survey.
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
Thomas R. Gedney, commanding the cutter, saw some of the Africans on shore and, assisted by his officers and crew, took custody of ''La Amistad'' and the Africans.
Taking them to the
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
port of
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...
, Lieutenant Gedney presented officials with a written claim for his property rights under international
admiralty law
Admiralty law or maritime law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between priva ...
for salvage of the vessel, the cargo, and the Africans. Gedney allegedly chose to land in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
because
slavery was still technically legal there, under the state's gradual abolition law, unlike in nearby New York State. He hoped to profit from sale of the Africans. Gedney transferred the captured Africans into the custody of the
United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (in case citations, D. Conn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appeals ...
, where legal proceedings began.
Parties
* Lt. Thomas R. Gedney filed a
libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
(a
lawsuit
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
in admiralty law) for salvage rights to the African captives and cargo on board ''La Amistad'' as property seized on the high seas.
* Henry Green and Pelatiah Fordham filed a libel for salvage and claimed that they had been the first to discover ''La Amistad''.
* José Ruiz and Pedro Montes filed libels requesting their property of "slaves" and cargo to be returned to them.
* The
Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, representing the Spanish government, libelled for the "slaves," cargo, and vessel to be returned to
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
as its property.
* Antonio Vega, vice-consul of Spain, libelled for "the slave Antonio" on the grounds that the man was his personal property.
[''US v. The Amistad'', p. 589]
* The Africans denied that they were slaves or property and argued that the court could not "return" them to the control of the government of Spain.
* José Antonio Tellincas, with Aspe and Laca, claimed other goods on board ''La Amistad''.
British pressure
As the British had entered into a treaty with Spain prohibiting the slave trade north of the equator, they considered it a matter of
international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
for the United States to release the Africans. The British applied diplomatic pressure to achieve that such as invoking the
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent () was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in ...
with the US, which jointly enforced their respective prohibitions against the
international slave trade.
While the legal battle continued, Dr.
Richard Robert Madden
Richard Robert Madden (22 August 1798 – 5 February 1886) was an Irish doctor, writer, abolitionist and historian of the United Irishmen. Madden took an active role in trying to impose anti-slavery rules in Jamaica on behalf of the British gov ...
, "who served on behalf of the British commission to suppress the African slave trade in Havana," arrived to testify.
He made a deposition "that some twenty-five thousand slaves were brought into Cuba every year – with the wrongful compliance of, and personal profit by, Spanish officials."
Madden also "told the court that his examinations revealed that the defendants were brought directly from Africa and could not have been residents of Cuba," as the Spanish had claimed.
Madden, who later had an audience with
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
concerning the case, conferred with the British Minister in Washington, D.C.,
Henry Stephen Fox
Henry Stephen Fox (22 September 1791 – 13 October 1846) was a British diplomat.
Life
Born in Chatham, the only son of General Henry Edward Fox (1755–1811), Henry was educated at Eton College. He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford in 1809 ...
, who pressured U.S. Secretary of State
John Forsyth on behalf "of her Majesty's Government."
Fox wrote:
Forsyth responded that under the separation of powers in the U.S. Constitution, the President could not influence the court case. He said that the question of whether the "negroes of the Amistad" had been enslaved in violation of the Treaty was still an open one, "and this Government would with great reluctance erect itself into a tribunal to investigate such questions between two friendly sovereigns."
He noted that when the facts were determined, they could be taken into account. He suggested that if the Court found for Spanish rights of property, the Africans would be returned to Cuba. Great Britain and Spain could then argue their questions of law and treaties between them.
Spanish argument
Secretary of State Forsyth requested from the Spanish minister, Chevalier de Argaiz, "a copy of the laws now in force in the island of Cuba relative to slavery."
In response, the
Captain General of Cuba sent Argaiz "everything on the subject, which had been determined since the treaty concluded in 1818 between Spain and England."
The minister also expressed dismay that the Africans had not already been returned to Spanish control.
The Spanish maintained that none but a Spanish court could have jurisdiction over the case. The minister stated, "I do not, in fact, understand how a foreign court of justice can be considered competent to take cognizance of an offence committed on board of a Spanish vessel, by Spanish subjects, and against Spanish subjects, in the waters of a Spanish territory; for it was committed on the coasts of this island, and under the flag of this nation."
The minister noted that the Spanish had recently turned over American sailors "belonging to the crew of the American vessel 'William Engs,'" whom it had tried by request of their captain and the American consul. The sailors had been found guilty of mutiny and sentenced to "four years' confinement in a fortress."
Other American sailors had protested, and when the American ambassador raised the issue with the Spaniards, on March 20, 1839, "her Majesty, having taken into consideration all the circumstances, decided that the said seamen should be placed at the disposition of the American consul, seeing that the offence was committed in one of the vessels and under the flag of his nation, and not on shore."
The Spaniards asked how if America had demanded that the sailors in an American ship be turned over to them despite being in a Spanish port, they could now try the Spanish mutineers.
The Spaniards held that just as America had ended its importation of African slaves but maintained a legal domestic population, so too had Cuba. It was up to Spanish courts to determine "whether the Negroes in question" were legal or illegal slaves under Spanish law, "but never can this right justly belong to a foreign country."
The Spaniards maintained that even if it was believed that the Africans were being held as slaves in violation of "the celebrated treaty of humanity concluded between Spain and Great Britain in 1835," it would be a violation of "the laws of Spain; and the Spanish Government, being as scrupulous as any other in maintaining the strict observance of the prohibitions imposed on, or the liberties allowed to, its subjects by itself, will severely chastise those of them who fail in their duties."
The Spaniards pointed out that by American law, the jurisdiction over a
vessel on the high seas, in time of peace, engaged in a lawful voyage, is, according to the laws of nations, under the exclusive jurisdiction of the State to which her flag belongs; as much so as if constituting a part of its own domain. ...if such ship or vessel should be forced, by stress of weather, or other unavoidable cause, into the port and under the jurisdiction of a friendly Power, she, and her cargo, and persons on board, with their property, and all the rights belonging to their personal relations as established by the laws of the State to which they belong, would be placed under the protection which the laws of nations extend to the unfortunate under such circumstances.
The Spaniards demanded that the U.S. "apply these proper principles to the case of the schooner ''Amistad''."
The Spanish were further encouraged that their view would win by U.S. Senator
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina who held many important positions including being the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He ...
and the Senate's Committee of Foreign Relations on April 15, 1840 issuing a statement announcing complete "conformity between the views entertained by the Senate, and the arguments urged by the
panish MinisterChevalier de Argaiz" concerning ''La Amistad''.
Applicable law
The Spanish categorized the Africans as property to have the case fall under
Pinckney's Treaty of 1795. They protested when Judge
William Jay construed a statement by their Minister as seeming to demand "the surrender of the negroes apprehended on board the schooner ''Amistad'', as murderers, and not as property; that is to say founding his demand on the
law of nations
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
, and not on the treaty of 1795."
The Spanish pointed out that the statement to which Jay was referring was one of the Spanish minister "speaking of the crime committed by the negroes
lave revolt and the punishment which they merit." They went on to point out that the minister had stated that a payment to compensate the owners "would be a slender compensation; for though the property should remain, as it ought to remain, unimpaired, public vengeance would be frustrated."
Judge Jay took issue with the Spanish minister's request for the Africans to be turned over to Spanish authorities, which seemed to imply that they were fugitives instead of misbehaving property, since the 1795 treaty stated that property should be restored directly to the control of its owners. The Spanish denied that it meant that the minister had waived the contention of them being property.
By insisting that the case fell under the treaty, the Spanish were invoking the
Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which would put the clauses of the treaty above the state laws of Connecticut or New York, where the ship had been taken into custody, "no one who respects the laws of the country ought to oppose the execution of the treaty, which is the supreme law of the country."
The case was already in the federal district court.
The Spanish also sought to avoid talk about the law of nations, as some of their opponents argued that it included a duty by the U.S. to treat the Africans with the same deference as would be accorded any other foreign sailors.
John Quincy Adams would argue that issue before the Supreme Court in 1841,:
The Africans were in possession, and had the presumptive right of ownership; they were in peace with the United States: ...they were not pirates; they were on a voyage to their native homes... the ship was theirs, and being in immediate communication with the shore, was in the territory of the State of New York; or, if not, at least half the number were actually on the soil of New York, and entitled to all the provisions of the law of nations, and the protection and comfort which the laws of that State secure to every human being within its limits.
When pressed with questions concerning the law of nations, the Spanish referred to a concept of
Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, poet and playwright.
A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in Delft ...
, who is credited as one of the originators of the law of nations. Specifically, they noted that "the usage, then, of demanding fugitives from a foreign Government, is confined... to crimes which affect the Government and such as are of extreme atrocity."
Initial court proceedings
![James Covey deposition on Amistad captives held in New Haven jail page 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/James_Covey_deposition_on_Amistad_captives_held_in_New_Haven_jail_page_1.jpg)
A case before the
circuit court in
Hartford, Connecticut, was filed in September 1839, charging the Africans with
mutiny
Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...
and murder on ''La Amistad''. The court ruled that it lacked
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels.
Jur ...
, because the alleged acts took place on a Spanish ship in Spanish waters. It was entered into the docket books of the federal court as ''United States'' v. ''Cinque, et al.''
Various parties filed property claims with the
district court to many of the African captives, to the ship, and to its cargo: Ruiz and Montez, Lieutenant Gedney, and Captain Henry Green (who had met the Africans while on shore on Long Island and claimed to have helped in their capture). The Spanish government asked that the ship, cargo and slaves be restored to Spain under the
Pinckney treaty of 1795 between Spain and the United States. Article 9 of the treaty held that "all ships and merchandises of what nature soever, which shall be rescued out of the hands of pirates or robbers on the high seas, ... shall be restored, entire, to the true proprietor." The United States filed a claim on behalf of Spain.
![Lewis Tappan portrait](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Lewis_Tappan_portrait.jpg)
The abolitionist movement had formed the "Amistad Committee," headed by the New York City merchant
Lewis Tappan
Lewis Tappan (May 23, 1788 – June 21, 1873) was a New York abolitionist who worked to achieve freedom for the enslaved Africans aboard the '' Amistad''. Tappan was also among the founders of the American Missionary Association in 1846, which ...
, and had collected money to mount a defense of the Africans. Initially, communication with the Africans was difficult since they spoke neither English nor Spanish. Professor
J. Willard Gibbs, Sr. learned from the Africans to count to ten in their
Mende language. He went to the docks of New York City and counted aloud in front of sailors until he located a person able to understand and translate. He found
James Covey, a twenty-year-old sailor on the British man-of-war . Covey was a former slave from West Africa.
The abolitionists filed charges of assault,
kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...
, and
false imprisonment against Ruiz and Montes. Their arrest in New York City in October 1839 had outraged pro-slavery advocates and the Spanish government. Montes immediately posted bail and went to Cuba. Ruiz, "more comfortable in a New England setting (and entitled to many amenities not available to the Africans), hoped to garner further public support by staying in jail.... Ruiz, however, soon tired of his martyred lifestyle in jail and posted bond. Like Montes, he returned to Cuba."
Outraged, the Spanish minister, Cavallero Pedro Alcántara Argaiz, made "caustic accusations against America's judicial system and continued to condemn the abolitionist affront. Ruiz's imprisonment only added to Alcántara's anger, and Alcántara pressured Forsyth to seek ways to throw out the case altogether."
The Spanish held that the bailbonds that the men had to acquire so that they could leave jail and return to Cuba caused them a grave financial burden, and "by the treaty of 1795, no obstacle or impediment
o leave the U.S.should have
een
Een ːnis a village in the Netherlands. It is part of the Noordenveld municipality in Drenthe.
History
Een is an ''esdorp'' which developed in the middle ages on the higher grounds. The communal pasture is triangular. The village developed dur ...
placed" in their way.
On January 7, 1840, all of the parties, with the Spanish minister representing Ruiz and Montes, appeared before the
U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (in case citations, D. Conn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appeals ...
and presented their arguments.
[''US v. The Amistad'', p. 590]
The abolitionists' main argument before the district court was that a treaty between Britain and Spain in 1817 and a subsequent pronouncement by the Spanish government had outlawed the slave trade across the Atlantic. They established that the slaves had been captured in
Mendiland
Mendiland is part of the extreme southwest portion of Sierra Leone on the western coast of Africa, where the Mende tribe
The Mende are one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone; their neighbours, the Temne people, constitute the l ...
(also spelled Mendeland, now
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
) in Africa, sold to a Portuguese trader in
Lomboko (south of
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...
) in April 1839, and taken to
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. illegally on a Portuguese ship. The Africans were victims of illegal kidnapping and so, the abolitionists argued, were not slaves but free to return to Africa. Their papers wrongly identified them as slaves who had been in Cuba since before 1820 and so were thus considered to have been born there as slaves. They contended that government officials in Cuba condoned such mistaken classifications.
Concerned about relations with Spain and his re-election prospects in the South, U.S. President
Martin Van Buren, a Democrat, sided with the Spanish position. He ordered the schooner
USS ''Grampus'' to
New Haven Harbor to return the Africans to Cuba immediately after a favorable decision, before any appeals could be decided.
The district court, led by judge
Andrew T. Judson
Andrew Thompson Judson (November 29, 1784 – March 17, 1853) was a United States representative from Connecticut and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. He also served in the Connect ...
, ruled in favor of the abolitionists and the Africans' position. In January 1840, he ordered for the Africans to be returned to their homeland by the U.S. government, and for one third of ''La Amistad'' and its cargo to be given to Lieutenant Gedney as salvage property. (The federal government had outlawed the slave trade between the U.S. and other countries in 1808; an 1818 law, as amended in 1819, provided for the return of all illegally-traded slaves.) The captain's personal slave Antonio was declared the rightful property of the captain's heirs and was ordered restored to Cuba. (Sterne said that he returned to Cuba willingly.
Smithsonian sources say that he escaped to New York, or to Canada, with the help of an abolitionist group.)
In detail, the District Court ruled as follows:
* It rejected the claim of the U.S. Attorney, who argued on behalf of the Spanish minister for the restoration of the slaves.
* It dismissed the claims of Ruiz and Montez.
* It ordered that the captives be delivered to the custody of the U.S. President for transportation to Africa since they were in fact legally free.
* It allowed the Spanish vice-consul to claim the slave Antonio.
* It allowed Lt. Gedney to claim one third of the property on board ''La Amistad''.
* It allowed Tellincas, Aspe, and Laca to claim one third of the property.
* It dismissed the claims of Green and Fordham for salvage.
The
U.S. Attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
for the District of Connecticut, by order of Van Buren, immediately appealed to the U.S. Circuit Court for the Connecticut District. He challenged every part of the District Court's ruling except the concession of the slave Antonio to the Spanish vice-consul. Tellincas, Aspe, and Laca also appealed to gain a greater portion of the salvage value. Ruiz and Montez and the owners of ''La Amistad'' did not appeal.
The Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the District Court's decision in April 1840.
The U.S. Attorney appealed the federal government's case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Arguments before Supreme Court
On February 23, 1841,
U.S. Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
Henry D. Gilpin
Henry Dilworth Gilpin (April 14, 1801 – January 29, 1860) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the 14th Attorney General of the United States under President Martin Van Buren from 1840 to 1841. He served as the 2nd Solicitor of t ...
began the oral argument phase before the Supreme Court. Gilpin first entered into evidence the papers of ''La Amistad'', which stated that the Africans were Spanish property. Gilpin argued that the Court had no authority to rule against the validity of the documents. Gilpin contended that if the Africans were slaves, as indicated by the documents, they must be returned to their rightful owner, the Spanish government. Gilpin's argument lasted two hours.
[Clifton Johnson, "The Amistad Case and Its Consequences in U.S. History"](_blank)
Amistad Research Center – Essays, Tulane University
John Quincy Adams, a former U.S. President who was then a
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
, had agreed to argue for the Africans. When it was time for him to argue, he said that he felt ill-prepared.
Roger Sherman Baldwin, who had already represented the captives in the lower cases, opened in his place.
Baldwin, a prominent attorney, contended that the Spanish government was trying to manipulate the Supreme Court to return "fugitives." He argued that the Spanish government sought the return of slaves who had been freed by the district court but was not appealing the fact of their having been freed. Covering all the facts of the case, Baldwin spoke for four hours over the course of February 22 and 23.
(He was of no relation to the Court's Justice
Henry Baldwin.)
Adams rose to speak on February 24. He reminded the Court that it was a part of the
judicial branch
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
and not part of the executive. Introducing copies of correspondence between the Spanish government and the
U.S. Secretary of State, he criticized President
Martin Van Buren for his assumption of
unconstitutional powers in the case:
Adams argued that neither
Pinckney's Treaty nor the
Adams–Onís Treaty
The Adams–Onís Treaty () of 1819, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty, the Florida Purchase Treaty, or the Florida Treaty,Weeks, p.168. was a treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to the U.S. and defined t ...
applied to the case. Article IX of Pinckney's Treaty referred only to property and did not apply to people. As to ''
The Antelope
''The Antelope'', 23 U.S. (10 Wheat.) 66 (1825), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States considered, for the first time, the legitimacy of the international slave trade, and determined "that possession on board of a vessel wa ...
'' decision (10 Wheat. 124), which recognized "that possession on board of a vessel was evidence of property," Adams said that did not apply either since the precedent was established prior to the prohibition of the foreign slave trade by the United States. Adams concluded on March 1 after eight-and-a-half hours of speaking. (The Court had taken a recess following the death of
Associate Justice Barbour).
Attorney General Gilpin concluded oral arguments with a three-hour rebuttal on March 2.
The Court retired to consider the case.
Decision
On March 9, Associate Justice
Joseph Story delivered the Court's decision. Article IX of Pinckney's Treaty was ruled inapplicable since the Africans in question had never been legal property. They were not criminals, as the U.S. Attorney's Office argued, but rather "unlawfully kidnapped, and forcibly and wrongfully carried on board a certain vessel." The documents submitted by Attorney General Gilpin were evidence not of property but rather of fraud on the part of the Spanish government. Lt. Gedney and the USS ''Washington'' were to be awarded salvage from the vessel for having performed "a highly meritorious and useful service to the proprietors of the ship and cargo."
[''US v. The Amistad'', p. 597] When ''La Amistad'' anchored near Long Island, however, the Court believed it to be in the possession of the Africans on board, who had never intended to become slaves. Therefore, the
Adams-Onís Treaty did not apply and so the President was not required to return the Africans to Africa.
In his judgment, Story wrote:
Aftermath and significance
![Kimbo Amistad 1839 1840](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Kimbo_Amistad_1839_1840.jpg)
The Africans greeted the news of the Supreme Court's decision with joy. Abolitionist supporters took the survivors – 36 men and boys and three girls – to
Farmington
Farmington may refer to:
Places Canada
*Farmington, British Columbia
*Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation)
United States
* Farmington, Arkansas
*Farmington, California
* Farmington, Connecticut
*Farmington, Delaware
* Farmington, Georgia
...
, a village considered "Grand Central Station" on the
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
. Their residents had agreed to have the Africans stay there until they could return to their homeland. Some households took them in; supporters also provided barracks for them.
The Amistad Committee instructed the Africans in English and Christianity, and raised funds to pay for their return home. One missionary was James Steele, an
Oberlin graduate, previously one of the
Lane Rebels
Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood in Cincinnati. Its campus ...
. "In 1841 he joined the Amistad Mission to Mendhi, which returned freed slaves to Africa and worked to establish a mission there. However, Steele soon found that the Amistad captives belonged to seven different tribes, some at war with one another. All of the chiefs were slave traders and authorized to re-enslave freed persons. These findings led to the decision that the mission must start in Sierra Leone, under the protection of the British.
Along with several
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
, in 1842 the surviving 35 Africans returned to Sierra Leone, the other having died at sea or while awaiting trial.
The Americans constructed a mission in
Mendiland
Mendiland is part of the extreme southwest portion of Sierra Leone on the western coast of Africa, where the Mende tribe
The Mende are one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone; their neighbours, the Temne people, constitute the l ...
. Former members of the Amistad Committee later founded the
American Missionary Association
The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, and ...
, an integrated evangelical organization that continued to support both the Mendi mission and the abolitionist movement.
In the following years, the Spanish government continued to press the US for compensation for the ship, cargo, and slaves. Several Southern lawmakers introduced resolutions into the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
to appropriate money for such payment but failed to gain passage, although it was supported by presidents
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...
and
James Buchanan
James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...
.
Joseph Cinqué returned to Africa. In his final years, he was reported to have returned to the mission and re-embraced Christianity. Recent historical research suggests that the allegations of Cinqué's later involvement in the slave trade are false.
In the
''Creole'' case of 1841, the United States dealt with another ship rebellion similar to that of the ''Amistad.''
The US had
prohibited the international slave trade in 1808, but ended domestic slavery only in 1865 with the
Thirteenth Amendment.
Connecticut had a gradual abolition law passed in 1797; children born to slaves were free but had to serve apprenticeships until young adulthood; the last slaves were freed in 1848.
In popular culture
![Montauk Point Amistad Memorial; May 11 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Montauk_Point_Amistad_Memorial%3B_May_11_2008.JPG)
The slave revolt aboard the ''Amistad,'' the background of the slave trade and its subsequent trial is retold in a celebrated poem by
Robert Hayden entitled "
Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was the stage of the Atlantic slave trade in which millions of enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas as part of the triangular slave trade. Ships departed Europe for African markets with manufactured goods (first ...
", first published in 1962. Howard Jones published ''
Mutiny on the Amistad: The Saga of a Slave Revolt and Its Impact on American Abolition, Law, and Diplomacy'' in 1987.
A movie, ''
Amistad'' (1997), was based on the events of the revolt and court cases, and Howard Jones' 1987 book ''
Mutiny on the Amistad''.
African-American artist
Hale Woodruff painted murals portraying events related to the revolt on ''The Amistad'' in 1938, for
Talladega College in Alabama. A statue of Cinqué was erected beside the City Hall building in
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
in 1992. There is an ''Amistad'' memorial at
Montauk Point State Park
Montauk Point State Park is a state park located in the hamlet of Montauk, at the eastern tip of Long Island in the Town of East Hampton, Suffolk County, New York. Montauk Point is the easternmost extremity of the South Fork of Long Island, ...
on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
.
In 2000, ''
Freedom Schooner Amistad
''La Amistad'' (; Spanish for ''Friendship'') was a 19th-century two- masted schooner, owned by a Spaniard colonizing Cuba. It became renowned in July 1839 for a slave revolt by Mende captives, who had been captured and sold to European slave ...
'', a
ship replica, was launched in
Mystic, Connecticut. The Historical Society of
Farmington, Connecticut offers walking tours of village houses that housed the Africans while funds were collected for their return home.
The
Amistad Research Center
The Amistad Research Center (ARC) is an independent archives and manuscripts repository in the United States that specializes in the history of African Americans and ethnic minorities. It is one of the first institutions of its kind in the United ...
at
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
in
, has numerous resources for research into slavery, abolition, and African Americans.
See also
*
Amistad Research Center
The Amistad Research Center (ARC) is an independent archives and manuscripts repository in the United States that specializes in the history of African Americans and ethnic minorities. It is one of the first institutions of its kind in the United ...
*
American slave court cases
The following is a list of court cases in the United States concerning slavery.
See also
*Freedom suit
*Slavery in the colonial United States
*Slavery in the United States
The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising t ...
*
John Quincy Adams and abolitionism
Like most contemporaries, John Quincy Adams' views on slavery evolved over time. Historian David F. Ericson asks why he never became an abolitionist. He never joined the movement called "abolitionist" by historians—the one led by William Lloyd G ...
Notes
References
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*
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External links
*
*
"Courtroom portraits of the ''Amistad'' captives drawn by New Haven resident William H. Townsend while the prisoners awaited trial" Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University
Amistad Ctr
1841, e-text, University of North Carolina
Gilder Lehrman Center, Yale Univ
Cornell University (include
"''Amistad'' Court Records Online" Footnote
"The ''Amistad'' Case" the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School
{{Taney Court
Conflicts in 1841
1841 in United States case law
Pre-emancipation African-American history
Freedom suits in the United States
Legal history of Connecticut
Farmington, Connecticut
Mutinies
United States admiralty case law
International maritime incidents
Legal history of Spain
La Amistad
1841 in Connecticut
Maritime incidents in the United States
United States Supreme Court cases of the Taney Court
African-American history of Connecticut
Spain–United States relations
Fugitive American slaves
United States Supreme Court cases