亞當斯為西班牙奴隸囚犯辯護的案例，被記載下來成為被奴役者辯護的首宗案例。

這起案例從西班牙奴隸交易商綁架了53位非洲獅子山人民、帶到古巴當作奴隸交易的事件開始，在1839年7月2日，這群囚犯群起反抗、佔領了船隻，殺害了幾位船員，在船隻進入美國長島海域時，這些非洲籍人民則受到了美國海軍的監管；總統馬丁范布倫（Martin Van Buren）著眼於下一次的選舉、採贊成奴隸制度的立場，希望這群人回到古巴，但康乃迪克州的法官論斷這些人應獲得擺脫奴役者的權力。

政府將此案件送至最高法院，約翰昆西亞當斯在此時擔任三十五位存活下來囚犯的代表，在1841年3月9日為這些人爭取到應有的自由，並於隔年一月回到自己的國家獅子山。

Adams's defense of the prisoners from the Spanish slave ship Amistad goes down in history as a pioneering case in the fight against slavery.

It all started when Spanish slave traders kidnapped 53 Africans from Sierra Leone and took them to Cuba to be sold into slavery. On July 2, 1839, the prisoners rose up and took over the ship, killing some of its officers. When the Amistad entered American waters off Long Island, the Africans were taken ashore into custody by the U.S. Navy. President Martin Van Buren, eager for pro-slavery votes in the next election, wanted them returned to Cuba, but a Connecticut judge ruled that they had had a right to escape their captors by any means available.

The government appealed to the Supreme Court, where John Quincy Adams represented the 35 surviving prisoners. He won their freedom on March 9, 1841, and they returned to Sierra Leone in January 1842.

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