After liberating themselves from the slave ship, Cinqué and the Amistad Africans are held in the United States, where the courts determine their status as enslaved or free. The national debate on slavery was channeled into the Supreme Court, where a former President defended the Africans. United States v. The Amistad :: 40 U.S. 518 (1841) :: Justia US Supreme Court Center Harris, Katherine J. (2014). "Colonization and Abolition in Connecticut". In Normen, Elizabeth J.; Harris, Katherine J.; Close, Stacey K.; Mitchell, Wm. Frank; White, Olivia (eds.). African American Connecticut Explored. Wesleyan University Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-8195-7398-8 The Amistad Case | National Archives Isabella II, Queen of Spain | Britannica 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; 1841 U.S. v. Amistad -- argument of Attorney-General Gilpin | REME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 40 U.S. 518; 10 L. Ed. 826 JANUARY, 1841 Term The Amistad Trials: An Account | UMKC School of Law | Professor Douglas O. Linder Patreon: patreon.com/themorbidmuseum Instagram: @themorbidmuseum Email: themorbidmuseum@gmail.com Artwork: Brittany Schall Music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by Kevin MacLeod