Amistad

These are only a few examples of resources at the Connecticut State Library (CSL). Many of the resources are not online, and are in restricted collections (must be used on site at CSL) that should be requested in advance by contacting the History & Genealogy Unit (860-757-6580).

See Demographic Groups page and our research guide:

Guide to the "Amistad Affair"
Resources for studying African-American Heritage at the CT State Library

Resources for studying African-American Heritage at the CT State Library
by History & Genealogy Last Updated Oct 31, 2024 1293 views this year

Archives at CSL

Archives at Connecticut State Library (CSL)

These are examples of some of the resources available from the Connecticut State Archives.

Much of this information is not available online. It is recommended to contact the History & Genealogy desk before coming to visit, as items need to be pulled from secured collections.

Books, Documents, etc.

The Amistad Rebellion by Marcus Rediker
Call Number: E447 .R44 2012
ISBN: 0670025046
Publication Date: 2012-11-08
The actions aboard the Amistad that July night and in the days and months that followed were pivotal events in American and Atlantic history, but not for the reasons we have always thought. The successful Amistad rebellion changed the very nature of the struggle against slavery. As a handful of self-emancipated Africans steered their own course to freedom, they opened a way for millions to follow. This stunning book honors their achievement.
Amistad case : speech of Hon. J.A. Rockwell, of Conn., in the House of Representatives, August 8, 1848 : on the proposition to indemnify the owners of the Spanish schooner Amistad by Rockwell, John A. (John Arnold), 1803-1861
Call Number: Spec Coll E173 .C6 v.5 no.27
Publication Date: [S.l. : s.n., 1848]
Appellate case file no. 2161, United States v. the Amistad [microform] : 40 U.S. 518 (15 Peters 518), decided March 9, 1841, and related lower court and Department of Justice records by National Archives and Records Administration
Call Number: StLib Newspaper Room E447 .A65 1997
Publication Date: 1997
Argument of Roger S. Baldwin, of New Haven, before the Supreme Court of the United States, in the Case of the United States, Appellants, vs. Cinque, and Others, Africans of the Amistad by Baldwin, Roger S., and Cinque
Call Number: Online and Special Collections E446 .B18 1841 Item does not circulate
Publication Date: 1841
Online access at Library of Congress.
Argument of John Quincy Adams : Before the Supreme Court of the United States, in the Case of the United States, Appellants, vs. Cinque, and Others, Africans, Captured in the Schooner Amistad, by Lieut. Gedney, Delivered on the 24th of February and 1st of
Call Number: Online and Special Collections E447 .A21 1841 Item does not circulate
Publication Date: 1841
Online access through our library catalog, subscription databases, and Library of Congress
Amistad Incident : Four Perspectives
Call Number: AS36.C8 A1
Publication Date: 1992
Underground railroad and Amistad sites (the lost eight months) in Farmington, Connecticut by Shaw, Ernest R
Call Number: F104.F4 S53 2006
Publication Date: 2006
U.S. Navy and the Amistad by Dept. of the Navy, Naval Historical Center
Call Number: Online
Publication Date: 1998
Amistad Revolt : An Historical Legacy of Sierra Leone and the United States
Call Number: Online
Publication Date: 1998
Susan B. Anthony, the Amistad and Civil Rights Act, historical documents [videorecording] by CT·N
Call Number: CT·N 3906
Publication Date: 2004

Federal Documents

Below are some examples of federal documents.

In Senate of the United States. February 19, 1851. Submitted, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Mason made the following report: (To accompany Bill S. No. 471.) The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred the resolution of the Senate instructing them "to inquire into the propriety of providing by law, pursuant to the recommendation of President Polk, in his message of the seventh December, eighteen hundred and forty seven, for payment of the claim there mentioned as arising to certain Spanish claimants in the 'Amistad case,' " have had the same under consideration, and submit the following report...

Date February 19, 1851

Session 31st Congress, 2nd Session

Volume Serial Set Vol. No. 593, Session Vol. No.1

Document S.Rpt. 301
Schooner Amistad. June 24, 1846.

Date June 24, 1846

Session 29th Congress, 1st Session

Volume Serial Set Vol. No. 491, Session Vol. No.4

Document H.Rpt. 753
Schooner Amistad. (To accompany Bill H.R. No. 328.) April 10, 1844.

Date April 10, 1844

Session 28th Congress, 1st Session

Volume Serial Set Vol. No. 446, Session Vol. No.2

Document H.Rpt. 426
Schooner Amistad. Message from the President of the United States, transmitting sundry letters between the Department of State and the Chevalier d'Argaiz, on the subject of the schooner "Amistad." February 28, 1842. Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Date February 28, 1842

Session 27th Congress, 3rd Session

Volume Serial Set Vol. No. 422, Session Vol. No.5

Document H.Doc. 191

Black Mutiny
Call Number: Stacks E447 .O9 1997
ISBN: 1574780042
Publication Date: 1997
Mutiny on the Amistad "Publisher description: This book is the first full-scale treatment of the only instance in history in which African blacks, seized by slave dealers, won their freedom and returned home. In 1839, Joseph Cinque led other blacks in a revolt on the Spanish slave ship, Amistad, in the Caribbean. They steered the ship northward to Montauk, Long Island, where it was seized by an American naval vessel. With the Africans jailed in Connecticut and the Spaniards claiming violation of their property rights, an international controversy erupted. The Amistad affair united abolitionists in the U.S. and England, drove the White House into almost any means to quiet the issue, and placed the U.S. and Spain in a confrontation that threatened to involve England and Cuba. The abolitionists, led by Lewis Tappan, Joshua Leavitt, and others, argued that equal justice was the central issue in the case. Appealing to natural law, evangelical arguments, and "moral suasion" in proclaiming slavery a sin, they sought to establish that all persons, black and white, have an inherent right of liberty and thereby hoped to erase the color line that formed the racial foundation of slavery. In their eyes, the mutiny on the Amistad offered an ideal opportunity to awaken Americans to the injustice of slavery. In this book, Howard Jones shows how the abolitionists' argument put the "laws of nature" on trial in the U.S., as Tappan and the others refused to accept a legal system claiming to dispense justice while permitting artificial distinctions based on race or color. Jones vividly captures the compelling drama that climaxed in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that freed the captives and allowed them to return to Africa. He notes that many of the abolitionists were nonetheless dissatisfied with the decision because it had not rested on the law of nature; yet, he observes, even they failed to grasp the central importance of the affair: that America's legal system had fulfilled its function of securing justice."
Call Number: Stacks E447 .J66 1987
ISBN: 9780195038286
Publication Date: 1987

Other Institutions

Amistad Research Center
Amistad Research Center is in partnership with Tulane University: "Amistad Research Center is committed to collecting, preserving, and providing open access to original materials that reference the social and cultural importance of America's ethnic and racial history, the African Diaspora, human relations, and civil rights."
African American Maritime History - From Mystic Seaport
Civil Rights in Connecticut
Amistad entry from Tapping the Scales of Justice - A Dose of Connecticut Legal History
U.S. v. The Amistad: The Mende Slave Revolt
Federal Judicial Center (FJC): "A group of enslaved Africans, who broke free of their captors, enter a federal court proceeding that will determine whether slave property rights are protected by federal law."
Travel the Amistad Freedom-Seeking Story, Connecticut (NPS)
From the National Park Service (NPS). Links to information about the Amistad and related locations in Conneticut
Amistad - National Park Service
Amistad: How it Began (NPS)
National Park Service (NPS)
The Amistad Case (NARA)
National Archives (NARA) Teaching With Documents.
"Incited by the Love of Liberty," Part 2 The Amistad Captives and the Federal Courts (NARA)
Article from National Archives (NARA) Prologue Magazine, Spring 2003, Vol. 35, No. 1, By Bruce A. Ragsdale
U.S. v. Amistad: A Case of Jurisdiction
National Archives (NARA) DocsTeach recources.
Survivors of Amistad Mutiny Released (LOC)
Library of Congress (LOC) Today in History.
U.S. Reports: United States v. The Amistad, 40 U.S. (15 Pet.) 518 (1841) (LOC)
Library of Congress (LOC) U.S. Supreme Court Report
The United States, Appellants, V. The Libellants And Claimants Of The Schooner Amistad, Her Tackle, Apparel, And Furniture, Together With Her Cargo, And The Africans Mentioned And Described In The Several Libels And Claims, Appellees. Supreme Court Of The
Opinion
United States v. Libellants of Schooner Amistad
From the Oyez Project
African American Maritime History - From Mystic Seaport
Amistad search at FJC
Search Federal Judicial Center (FJC) for the term "Amistad"
The Lyric Opera of Chicago’s World Premiere of Amistad
Online exhibit from Chicago History Museum
Amistad Digital Resource
Amistad Digital Resource for Teaching African American History
more...less...
Civil Rights Digital Library has this description in their catalog: "Web site with responding to mandates requiring resources for teaching African American history into the social studies curriculum in K-12 public schools, to provide a more inclusive and accurate record of American history. It is designed as a multimedia resource for secondary school teachers to enhance their knowledge and ability in teaching African American history. It includes photographs, audio recordings, news clips, and excerpts of oral history interviews with a descriptive narrative text explaining significant themes and key events in African American history, from slavery to the twenty-first century. The narrative is event driven in order to fit easily into classroom curriculum, while emphasizing the role of the individual."

Terminology and Usage Disclaimer

Please be advised that some of these resources--particularly those created in previous eras--contain descriptions for ancestral, racial, ethnic, and gender identity that may be offensive or harmful to individuals investigating these records, and are considered inappropriate to use in modern times. The descriptions and treatment of historically marginalized groups, women, and animals may be upsetting. Also, please note that inclusion in this subject guide does not necessarily constitute endorsement of the views therein--we encourage investigators to use their own judgment when evaluating books, websites, articles, documents, and other resources.

Terminology Policy
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Date	February 19, 1851
Session	31st Congress, 2nd Session
Volume	Serial Set Vol. No. 593, Session Vol. No.1
Document	S.Rpt. 301

Date	June 24, 1846
Session	29th Congress, 1st Session
Volume	Serial Set Vol. No. 491, Session Vol. No.4
Document	H.Rpt. 753

Date	April 10, 1844
Session	28th Congress, 1st Session
Volume	Serial Set Vol. No. 446, Session Vol. No.2
Document	H.Rpt. 426

Date	February 28, 1842
Session	27th Congress, 3rd Session
Volume	Serial Set Vol. No. 422, Session Vol. No.5
Document	H.Doc. 191