Unit Driving Question:​ ​How did a diversity of views transform American society? 
 
If you want to earn a possible grade of a C… 
● Read and Annotate ​The United States vs. Amistad 
○ evaluate Adams's reasoning and his choice to concede a point to the opposition. 
○ make connections between two media forms—Justice Story's opinion and the portrait of 
Joseph Cinqué. 
○ highlight and define legal terms and relate you to the broader opinion. 
○ note unfamiliar vocabulary. 
○ capture your reaction to the ideas and examples in the text. 
● Using complete sentences with evidence from the text, answer the following questions: 
○ How well has the writer explained his response to the majority opinion of the Court delivered by 
Justice Story? 
○ Did the writer apply his or her understanding of Adams's style of oratory and use of rhetoric? 
○ What sort of evidence did the writer use from the text to support his or her writing? 
○ How well does the writer explain how that evidence supports his or her arguments? 
○ Does the writer write using standard grammar and punctuation? Are there any weak spots? 
What are they? 
○ What specific suggestions can you make to help the writer improve the response? 
○ What thing(s) does this passage do especially well? 
○ How does John Quincy Adams argue that principles in the Declaration of Independence 
overpower claims made by victors in wartime? Support your answer with textual evidence. 
○ (a) What three key questions does Justice Joseph Story identify as the test to whether or not 
the enslaved passengers on the ​Amistad​ are subject to Pinckney’s Treaty of 1795? (b) How do 
these questions relate to Adams’s argument? Support your answer with evidence from the 
text. 
○ The natural rights and the property rights of individuals are two key aspects explored in 
writings of the English Enlightenment and in the founding documents of the United States. How 
does Justice Story address these two aspects in his writing of the majority opinion of the 
Court? How does this relate to Adams’s argument, and what can you infer from this opinion 
about how courts in the United States apply the principle of natural rights? 
● Research. ​Equality—the state of being equal in terms of rights—is an underlying issue in ​United States 
v.The Amistad. R​ esearch a topic related to equality in a culture of their choosing. (Not sure where to 
start? One idea is equal pay for equal work in the United States across ethnicities or genders.) What 
sort of arguments lawyers might make on the issue using Adams's argument from the selection as a 
model? Compile a brief, half page report on your findings.  

If you want to earn a possible grade of a B… 

● Complete all of the C requirements plus 
○ Write a Speech. ​While the scope of United States vs. The Amistad is focused narrowly on one 
group of enslaved passengers (during a time in which many enslaved Africans endured the 
brutality of the slave trade) and the Supreme Court focused its attention on the legal issues at 
hand (not the larger, overall issue of the legality of slavery), this case becomes a touchstone for 
the movement toward equality in the U.S. Imagine you are John Quincy Adams. Write a speech 
that you would give to the media, outside on the courthouse steps, just following the verdict in 
the case (as indicated in the majority opinion of the court delivered by Justice Story). Explain 
the meaning of the verdict, citing textual evidence from both Adams’s argument and the 
majority opinion of the Court, and describe what further legal and social changes need to be 
made in the US of the 1840s. Present Monday, 5/6 ! 
 
If you want to earn a possible grade of an A… 
● Complete all of the C and B requirements plus 
○ Mock Trial.​ Conduct part of a mock trial of ​United States v.The Amistad. ​ Call either Joseph 
Cinqué (one of the defendants) or José Ruiz or Pedro Montez (the plaintiffs) to the witness 
stand. Have teams represent the plaintiffs and the defendants and examine and 
cross-examine the witness. Have another team of students play a group of judges. 
OR 
 ○ Debate. ​Organize a class debate on the following topic:  
■ Should there be one global set of laws observed across the world, or does each nation 
have reason to enact laws that reflect its culture and meet its needs? As a middle 
ground—should there be some areas of law that are global and other areas specific to 
each nation?  
■ ​Have students research aspects of current international law, such as the role of the 
United Nations in international disputes, the Hague Choice of Court Convention, and 
Interpol. Have students relate their arguments about the ideal balance between 
international and national law with the issues between Spain and the United States 
raised in the selection. 
● Present Monday, 5/6 !