Brown, Wm. H; John Forsyth Sillouette Litho Martin Van Buren's Secretary of State,
CONNECTICUT, E. B. & E. C. KELLOGG, 1844 , PAPER BACK
Overall Condition is: VERY GOOD
Tan Illustrated Paper Back Page. Has an Illustration of a sillouette of a man with white hair standing next to a Window called John Forsyth from life by Wm. H Brown. Page is clean with minor foxing. Text is clear. Overall in very good condition. In the following legal brief, John Forsyth, Martin Van Buren's Secretary of State, rejects the argument that since the Atlantic slave trade was illegal under U.S. and Spanish law, the Africans on the Amistad had been illegally held captive. If the courts had accepted Forsyth's argument and returned the captives to Cuba, Cinqué and many others would almost certainly have been executed. In a ruling that stunned the Van Buren administration, the District Court ruled that since the Amistad rebels had been born free, they could not be treated as property, and must be returned to Africa. The district attorney appealed the verdict to the Circuit Court, which upheld the District Court's decision. The case then went to the U.S. Supreme Court.
REF#:103719