Argument of Roger S. Baldwin, of New Haven, Before the Supreme Court of the United States, in the Case of the United States, Appellants, vs. Cinque, and Others, Africans of Amistad

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A first edition manuscript of Roger Sherman Baldwin’s arguments before United States Supreme Court in the trial United States v. Schooner Amistad, 1841. The Octavo pamphlet-manuscript is constructed of handstitched rag paper, with 32 pages of Roger Sherman Baldwin’s (abolitionist; Governor; Congressman) full defense for the illegally captured Mende Africans by the Spanish schooner, La Amistad. The type on the front of the manuscript reads: [ARGUMENT / OF / ROGER S. BALDWIN, / OF NEW HAVEN, / BEFORE THE / SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, / IN THE CASE OF THE / UNITED STATES, APPELLANTS, / vs. / CINQUE, AND OTHERS, AFRICANS OF THE AMISTAD. The lower third of the manuscript’s front reads: [NEW YORK / S. W. BENEDICT, 128 FULTON STREET. / 1841.]. There is an inscription in graphite in the upper right corner of manuscript’s reverse.

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