John Quincy Adams' Request for Papers Relating to the Lower Court Trials of the Amistad Africans [Petition for Certioriari]; Scope and content: In the trial before the Supreme Court, the Africans were represented by John Quincy Adams, a former President and descendant of American revolutionaries. Preparing for his appearance before the Court, Adams requested papers from the lower courts one month before the proceedings opened. For 8 1/2 hours, the 73-year-old Adams passionately and eloquently defended the Africans' right to freedom on both legal and moral grounds, referring to treaties p


John Quincy Adams' Request for Papers Relating to the Lower Court Trials of the Amistad Africans [Petition for Certioriari]; Scope and content: In the trial before the Supreme Court, the Africans were represented by John Quincy Adams, a former President and descendant of American revolutionaries. Preparing for his appearance before the Court, Adams requested papers from the lower courts one month before the proceedings opened. For 8 1/2 hours, the 73-year-old Adams passionately and eloquently defended the Africans' right to freedom on both legal and moral grounds, referring to treaties prohibiting the slave trade and to the Declaration of Independence. General notes: Exhibit no. Exhibit History: American Originals, December 1997 - June 1998, National Archives Rotunda, Washington, DC, Exhibit No. The Rights of April 1987 - July 1987, Schomburg Center, New York, NY, Exhibit No.


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