Which former U.S. president successfully defended the crew of the Amistad in front of the United States Supreme Court?

In 1840, former President John Quincy Adams argued the Amistad case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. This case was about the legal status of fifty-three Africans. They were kidnapped into slavery in Sierra Leone and sold at a Havana slave market. They revolted on the Amistad in 1839. The ship was later seized off Long Island by a U.S. revenue cutter. It was taken to Connecticut, where the American cutter’s captain filed for salvage rights to the Amistad’s African cargo.

In 1808, the U.S. government had ruled that slave trade between the U.S. and other countries was illegal. Nonetheless, the “peculiar institution” persisted in the South and some northeastern American states. So in the Amistad case, several noted abolitionists filed a suit on behalf of the Africans against the slave captors for assault, kidnapping, and false imprisonment. They had been illegally enslaved.

Spain, backed by a 1795 anti-piracy treaty with the U.S., also claimed rights to the Amistad and her cargo. President Van Buren, personally neutral on the issue of slavery supported Spain’s claim to the ship. He would issue an order of extradition, per Spain’s request.

When Adams spoke before the Supreme Court, he did it for 9 hours. He was 73, but he still fought tirelessly. He won a decision from the majority of the Court to free the Africans. The Court ordered the thirty surviving captives returned to their home in Sierra Leone. In the end, abolitionists had to raise money to send them home.