John Quincy Adams' request for papers relating to the lower court trials of the Amistad Africans

January 23, 1841

National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Supreme Court of the United States, RG 267

After the Federal District Court ruled in favor of the Africans, the U.S. District Attorney filed an appeal to the Supreme Court. In the trial before the Supreme Court, the Africans were represented by John Quincy Adams, a former U.S. President and descendant of American revolutionaries. Preparing for his appearance before the Court, Adams requested papers from the lower courts one month before the proceedings opened.

For 8 ½ hours, the 73-year-old Adams passionately and eloquently defended the Africans' right to freedom on both legal and moral grounds, referring to treaties prohibiting the slave trade and to the Declaration of Independence.

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This document has been reproduced from the National Archives and Records Administration for use by educators and students. Generally, material produced by the Federal agencies are in the public domain. To find out more about Amistad and more on American history, we invite you to browse the large collection of data available at NARA.