Seeking Remote Freedom

Amistad Case

Camaysa Crittenden

Senior Division

Website

Process Paper: 350

 My history fair topic is about the Amistad Case that occurred in 1839. I chose this topic

because it consists of two components that I related to. One, is the fact of equality for the

African Americans. I am a person who believes in equal rights and equal opportunities for every

individual. The Amistad case was a very big step in getting the Africans to freedom. The second

reason was because it was a Supreme Court Case. My first career choice is becoming a lawyer,

and this case was very interesting learning about because I could see there were problems for

both sides of the argument and it gave me a different perspective on what people of law do.

I did a majority of my research at History.com. History.com gives a lot of detailed

information and I know its a reliable source because it holds information on everything and is a

professional website. Another website I used was National Archives. This website gave me more

information about John Quincey Adams and his views on the case.

Some problems that occurred while creating my History Fair Project was trying to find

out good points to oppose the side of the African Americans. Its hard to empathize with any

emotions the antagonists. Another problem was finding actual things that were said in court

during the trial. Since this happened so long ago, the archives of what happened arent easily to

access.

My topic fits the theme Taking a Stand in History because the African Americans

wrongfully enslaved stood up and fought for their freedom. They did what most thought would

be impossible, and won. Because it became a Supreme Court case, many people across America

got to see and hear about what happened. It allowed for people to notice the cause and helped

people realize why slave trade was wrong and why even having slaves was wrong. With this new

realization, the abolitionist movement was propelled forward. Abolitionist came together from
all over the United States to support the Amistad victims, and eventually every other African in

America as well.