In 1841, john quincy adams defended the african slaves of the in the supreme court.

Amistad

On July 1, 1839, fifty-three Africans who had been recently kidnapped in Sierra Leone and sold at a Havana slave market revolted on board of a ship called Amistad. They killed the captain and other crew.

The ship landed in New London, Connecticut, and Spanish authorities demanded the Africans be extradited to Cuba and tried for murder. Connecticut jailed the slaves and charged them with murder. The slave trade had been outlawed in the US since 1808 (though not slavery itself) and the case caused the Nation's attention. The New Haven court ruled that no one owned the Africans because they had been illegally enslaved, but the decision was appealed and the case came before the Supreme Curt in January 1841.

Former US President John Quincy Adams represented the captives' petition for freedom before the Supreme Court. Adams spoke for nine hours and succeeded in convincing the majority to free the captives once and for all. The surviving captives returned to their home in Sierra Leone.

the 9th amendment

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