1. Create a mock trial in which students prepare arguments in Federal District Court
representing the captain of the American ship that intercepted the Amistad, the two
Spanish officers, and the Spanish government.

2. Compare the arguments before the Supreme Court of the Van Buren administration and
John Quincy Adams.

3. Explain the reactions of slaveholders and abolitionists to the decision of the Supreme
Court.
4.
What did Adams mean when he said, "There is in my estimation no higher object upon
earth of ambition than to occupy that position"?