John Quincy Adams was the son of one the United States’ Founding Fathers, John Adams, and served as the sixth President of the nation. By involving himself in the 1840 District Court case of a group of thirty-six African men regarding their freedom to return to Africa, Adams connected the cause of antislavery and the United State’s founding principles in a stride.
The group of Africans were purchased by Portuguese slave traders, then shipped to Cuba with the intent of transporting to a Spanish colony. The Africans were from the Mende tribe of West Africa and were only recently taken to Cuba. Spanish slave owners perceived that the Mendians had been slaves in Cuba for a long period of time, and thus placed them onto a ship the Amistad to be transported in agreement with the international slave trade laws. The Mendians gained control of the ship by unchaining themselves and seized most of the crew. The remaining two Cuban crewmembers promised to navigate the Amistad back to Africa. Instead, they deceived the Mendians and steered the ship toward the United States in hope of a friendly assist due to the Anglo-Spanish peace treaty. The Amistad was then captured by the United States, and the slaves were taken to Connecticut. The Mendians were unable to communicate due to not being able to speak English or Spanish. They were brought to a federal court where their trial date was set. …show more content…
The United States President Martin Van Buran became involved, preferring to return the slaves in order to not lose support of the pro-slave southern states, transferred the trial to the Supreme
The group of Africans were purchased by Portuguese slave traders, then shipped to Cuba with the intent of transporting to a Spanish colony. The Africans were from the Mende tribe of West Africa and were only recently taken to Cuba. Spanish slave owners perceived that the Mendians had been slaves in Cuba for a long period of time, and thus placed them onto a ship the Amistad to be transported in agreement with the international slave trade laws. The Mendians gained control of the ship by unchaining themselves and seized most of the crew. The remaining two Cuban crewmembers promised to navigate the Amistad back to Africa. Instead, they deceived the Mendians and steered the ship toward the United States in hope of a friendly assist due to the Anglo-Spanish peace treaty. The Amistad was then captured by the United States, and the slaves were taken to Connecticut. The Mendians were unable to communicate due to not being able to speak English or Spanish. They were brought to a federal court where their trial date was set. …show more content…
The United States President Martin Van Buran became involved, preferring to return the slaves in order to not lose support of the pro-slave southern states, transferred the trial to the Supreme