In 1839, the schooner Amistad set sail on a short voyage from one end of Cuba to the other. During the journey, the illegally enslaved Africans she was carrying revolted against their captors and seized control of the ship. They hoped to sail back to Africa, but instead they wound up in the United States, where they were put on trial. Their case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where they were represented by former U.S. president John Quincy Adams. Walter Dean Myers explores the issues surrounding the imprisonment and trial of the Amistad captives and examines the feelings, both popular and political, that were shaping our young nation at that time.