Supreme Court finds in favor of The Schooner Amistad

A Spanish slave ship, the Amistad, had been captured off the coast of Connecticut by the U.S. Navy. The slaves were captured in Africa and illegally sold in Havana. The schooner Amistad was transporting them to another port in Cuba when the slaves revolted and attempted to force sailors to take them back to Africa. Under the pretense of sailing towards Africa, the crew actually sailed for the United States. Now, the Supreme Court finds in favor of the captured Africans, stating that existing treaties with Spain cannot dictate their return to their Spanish masters because the slave trade is illegal in the United States and no U.S. treaty can deprive free Africans of their liberty.  (By Joanne Williams)