Adams Defends the
Mutineers
John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
Brief in the Amistad Case
Autograph notes,
[February 24 and March 1, 1841]
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After fifty-three African captives aboard the Spanish
schooner Amistad mutinied off the coast of Cuba in 1839,
killing the captain and cook, they tried to sail the vessel back
to Africa. Captured off Long Island, their return was demanded
by the Spanish government. Former president John Quincy Adams
argued their case before the Supreme Court in 1841, and largely
through his efforts, the captives were freed and permitted to
return to Africa. Adams's legal brief, "extraordinary for its
power" in the words of Justice Joseph Story, was widely circulated
in print and became a milestone in the abolitionist cause.
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