Amistad Library - The Court Records

The Exploring Amistad library contains many resources from the Amistad court cases. Highlights include:

The pamphlet compiled by John Barber, which transcribes accounts of several phases of the trial, including:

the initial investigation conducted on board the Amistad in August 1839,

the hearings presided over by Judge Smith Thompson several weeks later in September, and

the district court precedings presided over by Judge Judson in November 1839 and January 1840;

Attorney General's report to Secretary of State John Forsyth, which lays out the position taken by the Van Buren administration # that the Africans should have been returned to Cuba to stand trial for piracy and murder;

The Supreme Court decision written by Justice Story, which ultimately upheld the Africans' freedom;

John Quincy Adams' extended version of his arguments on the Africans' behalf # a pamphlet of 135 pages.

For a broad overview of the sequence of trials, consult the Amistad Story: Trials page, and for a detailed account of the trials, consult the Court Timeline.