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The Supreme Court decides on the Amistad slave ship case...
The Supreme Court decides on the Amistad slave ship case...
Item # 618579
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March 20, 1841
NILES' NATIONAL REGISTER, Baltimore, March 20, 1841
* The Amistad slave ship trial
A very significant issue, as an inside page has: "The Case of the Amistad" being the report of the Supreme Court on this historic slavery-related event.
As a bit of background, the "Amistad" was a United States Supreme Court case resulting from the rebellion of slaves on board the Spanish schooner of this name in 1839. The rebellion broke out when the schooner, traveling along the coast of Cuba, was taken over by a group of captives who had earlier been kidnapped in Africa and sold into slavery. The Africans were later apprehended on the vessel near Long Island, New York, by the United States Navy and taken into custody. The ensuing widely publicized court cases in the United States helped the abolitionist movement. In 1840, a federal trial court found that the initial transport of the Africans across the Atlantic (which did not involve the Amistad) had been illegal, because the international slave trade had been abolished, and that they were thus not legally slaves but free. Furthermore, given they were illegally confined, the Africans were entitled to take what legal measures necessary to secure their freedom, including the use of force. The Supreme Court affirmed this finding on March 9, 1841, and the Africans traveled home in 1842. The case influenced numerous succeeding laws. This case was made famous by the 1997 movie "Amistad" by Stephen Spielberg.
This issue has extensive reporting on this case taking over 1 1/2 pages, and as noted in the prefacing comments: "...Mr. Justice Story delivered the opinion of the court...", followed by a detailed review of the case from beginning to end, with the verdict of the court as noted above (see for portions).
Great to have this report in a Baltimore newspaper, so close to Washington, D.C. where the verdict was given. And since the verdict was rendered on March 9 this is likely one of the earliest reports to be found in a newspaper.
Sixteen pages, 8 1/2 by 11 3/4 inches, two pagers have very discrete archival mends, very nice condition.
This newspaper began in 1811 and was a prime source for national political news of the first half of the 19th century. As noted in Wikipedia, this title: "...(was) one of the most widely-circulated magazines in the United States...Devoted primarily to politics...considered an important source for the history of the period."
Category: Pre-Civil War
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