Abolition and the Amistad IncidentSuited for Grades: 9-college
Goals of this exercise:
Students will examine primary evidence regarding abolitionism in the 1830's and 40's, with particular attention to how these pieces of evidence could have impacted the outcome of the Amistad trial. Through the examination of primary sources, students will develop skills to critically evaluate and identify tone in a multitude of media.
Preparatory Assignment:
- In a discussion on the status of African Americans in the 1800's, with particular
emphasis on the differences between those free and enslaved, students will identify
the role of abolitionists, both black and white, in the United States' society. Some
discussion questions are: Who were the major abolitionist figures in the United States
in 1839? What was the popular consensus regarding abolition? Who were some of the
abolitionists in Connecticut in 1839?
- In relating the Amistad incident to other major events in the world, students will discuss the state of affairs in the United States in 1839, as well as in the world. A useful resource is the Exploring Amistad Timeline. Some discussion questions are: What countries were the major powers in the world in 1839? Who were their leaders? What types of relationships did these powers have among each other, i.e., were they on friendly terms, going to war, etc.? What were some of the major issues brought before the representative bodies of each nation? Will these issues have bearing on the Amistad case?
Evaluating Primary Sources:
Though primary sources are typically considered written documents, other forms of
media can be included. Documents for students to utilize include newspaper articles,
legislative and diplomatic documents, court records, maps, paintings, and personal
correspondences and manifests. Some questions for evaluating primary sources are:
what type of source is it? What type of argument or message is the creator trying
to send? Is the argument blatant or implied? Is the document designed to make you
believe something? What kind of techniques does the creator employ to depict the
different people involved, i.e., does the painter depict the Africans in a good light?;
or does the author use negative terms when describing abolitionists? Do you find
the creator's argument convincing? Why or why not? How convinced would you think
a person from the 1830's might be by this document?
Using Primary Sources:
Now that students can critically assess the documents which they will use, they will
employ the resources on Exploring Amistad
to delineate the incident as told through the documents and discern the type of impact
each of the documents had on the Africans, the abolitionists, the trial, and the
common person in 1839.
Some Suggested Resources on Exploring Amistad:
PRIMARY DOCUMENTS:
"The Long, Low, Black Schooner," Charleston Courier, 5 Sept. 1839 Part 1. Report on the Amistad rebellion, the vessel's eventual capture, and the District Court trial. Includes physical description of Joseph Sing-gbe, translations of Cinque's speeches on board the Amistad, and the District Court trial testimony of Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montez.
"The Africans," New Haven Record in the Emancipator, 7 Nov. 1839. Article to refute other newspapers' accounts of the role of the Africans, particularly Cinque's alleged involvement with the slave trade. Calls for other newspapers to fairly report the situation and not mislead their readers.
"The Amistad Case," Colored American, 26 Dec. 1840. British Government is insisting upon fulfillment of its treaty with Spain which declared slave trade illegal, entitling Amistad captives to their freedom.
"Treaty with Great Britain,"The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845, (Vol. VII., Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1848), 9 Aug. 1842. Excerpts from "A Treaty with Great Britain"(Ratified in 1842) highlight both America and Great Britain's commitment to the suppression of the slave trade and their agreement in how to handle the delivery of fugitive criminals.
"An Act to Prohibit the Importation of Slaves," Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, 1789-March 3, 1845. Volume II. Edited by Richard Peters, Esq., Little, Brown, and Company, Boston, 1861.The complete language of the 1807 congressional act banning the importation of slaves into the U.S., and to restrict the movements of vessels carrying slaves within the U.S.
"Amistad Africans and the Law," New York Commercial Advertiser, 13 Sept. 1839. An article detailing the influence of the American Colonization Society upon the passage of an act providing for the restoration of any Africans--brought into this country illegally--to their native land.
"Law Provides for Amistad Africans; Work of the American Colonization Society," New York Journal of Commerce, 14 Nov. 1839. Cites law providing for Executive Branch’s returning Africans to homeland; reviews work of American Colonization Society.
"Suppressing the Slave Trade," New York Morning Herald, 21 Oct. 1839. Reports that the US Navy off the coast of Africa, attempting to suppress trading of slaves by American vessels.
"Report from Washington," Colored American, 16 Jan. 1841. Senate discusses giving right to vote to foreigners before they are naturalized citizens but denies the right to dark complected Americans; Congress violates constitution by refusing to hear abolition petitions; JQA soon to appear before Supreme Court in defense of Amistad captives; cites regulation forbidding free blacks or mulattos to be out after 10:00 pm unless having a pass from a JP or respectable citizen or driving a conveyance. Offenders to be fined ten dollars--and perhaps jailed.
"Introduction and Table of Contents," U.S. Congress. House. Africans Taken in the Amistad. 26th Congress., 1st sess., 1840.H. Doc. 185.Table of contents for the collection of papers prepared by the Secretary of State for the House of Representatives containing correspondence between the U. S. Government and foreign ministers and diplomats regarding the Amistad. This collection has been subdivided into individual letters, accompanying transcriptions, and descriptions in the Exploring Amistad library.
"Opinion of the Attorney General," U.S. Congress. House. Africans Taken in the Amistad. 26th Congress., 1st sess., 1840.H. Doc. 185.pp.57-62.The Attorney General, after reviewing the facts of the Amistad Case, believes that the Africans should be returned to Spain under the Treaty of 1795.
"Slavery in Connecticut," New York Journal of Commerce, 5 Jan. 1841. Recap of 1840 census information regarding free black and slave population in Connecticut and comparison to the 1830 census information.
"Statute of Laws," The Public Statute Laws of the State of Connecticut, Passed at the Session of the General Assembly in 1833. Hartford: John Russell, 1833.Statement of Chapt. IX, Public Statute Laws, which made it illegal to establish any school for teaching "colored persons" who are not residents of Connecticut (law repealed 31 May 1838).
"Map of Connecticut," Connecticut Historical Collections, John Warner Barber, 1837. Political map of Connecticut c.1837, two years prior to the arrival of the Amistad Africans.
"The Africans," Colored American, 27 March 1841. A joyous reaction to the Circuit Court's decision declaring the Amistad Africans "freemen" and a report on their activities.
"Mendis Perform," New York Herald, 15 May 1841. Lewis Tappan brings the Amistad Africans before the Tabernacle. They recount their story, read from the bible and display their spelling capabilities.
"Diary Entry- 29 March 1841," John Quincy Adams. Adams waxes philosophical about potential hopelessness of fighting slave trade.
"The African Prisoners," New York Commercial Advertiser, 28 Sept. 1839. Correspondence regarding the Anti-Slavery Society's activities for the Amistad Africans.
"Kale to John Quincy Adams, 4 Jan. 1841," transcription from The Amistad Mutiny , Bernice Kohn. New York: The McCall Publishing Company, 1971.Correspondence from Kale to John Quincy Adams just prior to the Supreme Court Trial.
"Kinna to John Quincy Adams, 4 Jan. 1841," Correspondence from Kinna to John Quincy Adams just prior to the Supreme Court Trial.
"The African Repository & Colonial Journal," Vol XVII, no 23, 1 Dec. 1841. A published letter from Cinque to the President requesting aid and supplies to return to Sierra Leone where the Mendis will do missionary work.
"Slave Trade," from Middle Passage. #16, Sec 11 Depiction of the capture of Africans.
"The Africans," New York Morning Herald, 13 Sept. 1839. Brief account of the public excitement surrounding the Amistad Africans jailed in New Haven.
"Case of Ruiz and Montez-- Atrocious Developments at New Haven," New York Morning Herald, 23 Oct. 1839. Argues that the abolitionists are helping murderers by making a case on behalf of the Amistad Africans.
"United States Should Not Interfere with Amistad Quarrel," New York Morning Herald, 31 Oct. 1839. Argues that the United States courts do not have jurisdiction over the Amistad case, since the case involves non-American slaves who attacked their non-American masters.
"Differences in the Intellectual Character of the Several Varieties of the Human Race," Lindsley, Harvey, M.D. Southern Literary Messenger , 5/1/1839. An investigation "proving" the intellectual superiority of Caucasians over all other races.
SECONDARY SOURCES
Bergard, Laird W., Feiglesias Garcia, and Maria del Carmen Barcia. The Cuban Slave Market 1790-1880 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995)
Corwin, Arthur F. Spain and the Abolition of Slavery in Cuba, 1817-1866. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1967)
Etis, David and Walving, James. The Abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade: Origins and Effects in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1981)
Jones, Howard. Mutiny on the Amistad: The Saga of a Slave Revolt and its Impact on American Abolition, Law, and Diplomacy. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987, rev. 1997)
Strother, Horatio T. The Underground Railroad in Connecticut. (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1962)
