mar 31, 1840 - Special Message to Congress relating to a report made by the Secretary of State to resolve the jurisdictional dispute about the schooner Amistad. On August 24, 1839, a U.S. ship captured the Amistad off the coast of Long Island, NY with enslaved Africans onboard. Van Buren sought to extradite the Africans to their Cuban enslavers in an effort to gain pro-slavery votes for his upcoming presidential term
Added to timeline:
Date:
mar 31, 1840
Now
~ 185 years ago