National Archives and Records Administration
Visit their Digital Classroom
located at: http://www.nara.gov/education/classrm.html
Find Primary Sources on
the Amistad Case at:
http://www.nara.gov/education/teaching/amistad/teach.html
Standards Correlations
The following teaching activities correlate to the
National Standards for History.
* Era 4 - Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
* Standard 2D - Demonstrate understanding of the
rapid growth of "the peculiar institution" [slavery]
after 1800 and the varied experiences of African Americans
under slavery.
* Standard 3B - Demonstrate understanding of how
the debates over slavery influenced politics and sectionalism.
* Standard 4A - Demonstrate understanding of the
abolitionist movement.
The teaching activities also correlate to the National
Standards for Civics and Government.
* Standard II. B. 1. - Explain how certain characteristics,
including a history of slavery, tend to distinguish
American society from most other societies.
* Standard III. B. 1.- Evaluate, take, and defend
positions on issues regarding the purposes, organization,
and functions of the institutions of the national
government.
* Standard III. D. 1.- Evaluate, take, and defend
positions on the role and importance of law in the
American political system.
* Standard V. B. 1.- Evaluate, take, and defend positions
on issues regarding personal rights.
Cross-curricular Connections
Share these exercises with your history, government,
language arts, and drama colleagues.
Teaching Activities
Ask students to write an article for an 1841 newspaper
describing the decision of the Supreme Court in the
Amistad case. Encourage them to research the
provisions of the Congressional Act of March 19, 1819,
for background information. To insure that students
recognize the differences in sectional reactions to
the case, assign students particular newspapers, some
in the North and some in the South.
Ask student volunteers to research and make an oral
presentation to the class comparing the Amistad
case to other significant incidents related to slavery
prior to the Civil War, including Nat Turner's rebellion
(1831), the Creole revolt (1841), and the Dred
Scott decision (1857). Use the following questions
to prompt comparisons: To what extent did these incidents
involve violence? What were their outcomes? How did
they influence sectional differences?
For Further Reading:
Jones, Howard. Mutiny on the Amistad: The
Saga of a Slave Revolt and its Impact on American
Abolition, Law, and Diplomacy. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1987.
The Legal Information Institute at Cornell University
has created a web site devoted to the legal issues
surrounding the Amistad case.
Voices of Fredom: Amistad Curriculum. Lessons
for K-12 Developed by LEARN, Connecticut Historical
Society, AMISTAD America, June 2000.
