The Antelope facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Antelope |
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| Decided March 15, 1825 | |
| Full case name | The Antelope |
| Citations | 23 U.S. 66 (more)
10 Wheat. 66; 6 L. Ed. 268
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| Holding | |
| Approximately 120 slaves were repatriated to the American Colonization Society colony in what is now Liberia. Approximately 30 slaves were ruled to be the property of the Spanish claimants and went to slavery in Florida. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Marshall, joined by unanimous |
The Antelope was a very important case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1825. For the first time, the Court looked at whether the international trade of enslaved people was legal. The judges decided that if people were on a ship and considered "property" by the ship's owners, then they were treated as property under the law at that time. This case helped shape how the U.S. dealt with the illegal slave trade.
Contents
Stopping the Slave Trade
The United States made it illegal to bring enslaved people into the country in 1808. This was done with a law called the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves. However, this law did not say what should happen to people found on illegal slave ships. Often, states would sell these people and keep the money.
In 1819, a new law gave the U.S. President power to use Navy ships to catch slave ships. This law also said that Africans found on these ships should be kept safe and moved out of the United States.
A year later, in 1820, another law made it a very serious crime, like "piracy," to capture people to enslave them or to bring enslaved people into the U.S.
The Ship's Capture
On June 29, 1820, a U.S. government ship called the Dallas caught a slave ship named Antelope. The Antelope was carrying about 280 Africans near the coast of Florida, which was controlled by Spain at the time. The Dallas suspected the Antelope was trying to illegally bring enslaved people into the U.S.
The Antelope was originally built in the U.S. It was later sold to a Spanish owner and renamed Fenix. The Spanish government had given it permission to carry enslaved people from Africa to Cuba.
However, the Antelope had been captured by another ship, a "privateer," near a place called Cabinda. A privateer was a private ship allowed by a government to attack enemy ships. The privateer renamed the Antelope to General Ramirez. It then used the ship to carry people already on board, plus more people taken from Portuguese and American ships.
The Antelope, its crew, and the Africans on board were all taken to Savannah, Georgia.
Legal Claims Begin
After the Antelope arrived in Savannah, several groups made claims about the Africans on board.
Captain John Jackson of the Dallas asked the federal court for money. He wanted either $25 for each African, if they were considered free under the 1819 law, or money for saving "property" if they were enslaved people belonging to Spanish and Portuguese owners.
Soon after, the Kings of Spain and Portugal also claimed that many of the Africans on the Antelope belonged to them. The Spanish king claimed over 150 people, and the Portuguese king claimed 130.
Later, the U.S. District Attorney for Georgia, Richard W. Habersham, filed his own claim. He argued that all the Africans on the Antelope should be free. He said they had been taken from Africa by people who planned to sell them illegally in the United States.
Trial for the Captain
John Smith was a captain on the Antelope after it was captured by the privateer. He was put on trial in December 1820 for serious crimes. He was accused of stealing from a French ship and taking part in the capture of a Portuguese ship and the Antelope.
Even though a new law in 1820 said that capturing people to enslave them was like "piracy," Smith was not charged under that specific part of the law.
Smith's lawyers argued that he was not a U.S. citizen and was working for another country. However, evidence showed he was a U.S. citizen. His lawyers then said he had given up his U.S. citizenship. They also argued that he believed his actions were legal because he had a special permit from another country.
The judge told the jury that Smith did not seem to have bad intentions. Smith was found not guilty of all charges. After his trial, Smith tried to get the Antelope and its cargo back, saying they were legally captured during a war.
Court Case in Savannah
The main court case about the Antelope and the people on board started in January 1821. The court had to figure out how many Africans were on the ship and who their original owners might have been.
Three Spanish crew members, who had been left behind when the Antelope was captured, testified. They said there were 166 Africans on the ship when it was taken.
John Smith, the captain, said there were only 93 Africans on the Antelope when it was captured. He claimed that 210 Africans were taken from Portuguese ships. Smith and another crew member also said that 25 Africans had been taken from an American ship called the Essex. They added that about half of those people had died or drowned on the way.
The Court's Decision
The Supreme Court decided that John Smith could not get the Antelope back as a prize of war. The Court calculated that the privateer had taken 93 Africans from the Antelope itself and 183 from ships flying the Portuguese flag. The Court noted there was not enough proof about the true nationality of those Portuguese ships.
In the end, 120 of the Africans who survived were sent to Liberia in July 1827. Liberia was a colony set up by the American Colonization Society for free African Americans. These people from the Antelope settled in a new community there called New Georgia. This name was chosen because they had lived in Savannah, Georgia, for seven years.
About 30 of the enslaved people were ruled to be the property of the Spanish claimants. These individuals were sent to slavery in Florida.
See also
- United States v. The Amistad, 1841 case
