Mendi Bible facts for kids

The Mendi Bible is a special Bible that was given to John Quincy Adams in 1841. It was a gift from a group of Mende people who had been freed after a brave journey. These people had been captured and put on a ship called the La Amistad.

The Amistad Story

In 1839, about 49 people from the Mende people in Sierra Leone were captured. They were forced onto a Spanish ship, the La Amistad, to be taken as slaves to North America. But these brave people fought back and took control of the ship!

However, they eventually ended up in the hands of the United States Navy. Once in the U.S., their freedom was not clear. Their case went all the way to the highest court, the Supreme Court. This famous case was called United States v. The Amistad.

A Fight for Freedom

John Quincy Adams, who was a former president and a Congressman, helped them. He was against slavery and became their lawyer. He argued that the Mende people were free and had every right to escape their illegal capture.

The Supreme Court agreed! They ruled that the Mende captives were free. They could finally prepare to go home to Africa.

A Special Gift

Before leaving, the Mende people bought a beautiful Christian Bible. It had a gold-decorated cover. Inside, they wrote a letter to John Quincy Adams. The letter showed their thanks and friendship.

Part of their thank you letter said:

We are about to go home to Africa. We go to Sierra Leone first, and then we reach Mendi very quick. When we get to Mendi we will tell the people of your great kindness. Good missionary will go with us. We shall take the Bible with us. It has been a precious book in prison, and we love to read it now we are free! Mr. Adams, we want to make you a present of a beautiful Bible! Will you please to accept it, and when you look at it or read it, remember your poor and grateful clients?...

For the Mendi people. CINQUE, KINNA, KALE.

Boston, Nov. 6, 1841.

Legacy and Preservation

Today, the Mendi Bible is kept safe at the Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, Massachusetts. It is in the Stone Library, which is next to the Adams' family home, Peacefield. The Bible is not always on public display.

In 1996, the book was taken from the Adams site. But the FBI found it in a gym locker in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1997.

Deval Patrick, who was the Governor of Massachusetts, used the Mendi Bible when he took his oath of office. He was the first African-American governor of Massachusetts. He used the Bible for his first oath on January 4, 2007, and again for his second oath on January 6, 2011.