Teaching with Documents Lesson Plan: The Amistad Case

Teaching with Documents Lesson Plan: The Amistad Case is a part of the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) Digital Classroom. This site offers scholars of all ages the opportunity to explore the actual documents important to this landmark case in human and civil rights.

Most people have, thanks to the Steven Spielberg film and through the many popular histories written about the Spanish slave ship and its human cargo, a passing knowledge of the Amistad. In brief, 53 Africans in 1839 were taken captive and transported from Sierra Leone to Cuba. En route, the captives managed to take charge...