John Quincy Adams and Amistad
Choose a PDF, read on screen, and try the word game.
Choose your PDF reading
All four include an image, vocabulary, comprehension questions, a follow-up reading, and teacher guidance. These English PDFs have selectable text; use the reading below for adjustable text and listening tools.
Read on this page
Words to know
- resist
- act against a force, rule, or demand
- court
- a place or group that decides legal cases
- freedom
- the ability to live and act without unjust control
Captive Africans aboard La Amistad resisted enslavement. Their case reached the U.S. Supreme Court. John Quincy Adams helped argue for their freedom. The Africans’ own resistance began this fight.
Talk about the reading
What happened? Point to a detail that supports your answer. What does the picture help you understand? What would you like to investigate next?
Follow-up: Thoreau at Walden Pond
Henry David Thoreau moved into a small house near Walden Pond. He observed nature and thought about how people live. He later wrote Walden. The pond is in Concord, and his stay lasted about two years.
How are the two events connected or different? Their order does not prove that one caused the other.
Read the follow-up event →Word match: use the reading
Select a word, then select its meaning. You can use a keyboard or tap. Read the word bank if you need a clue.
Choose a word to begin.
Check the evidence
Research source for this event ↗
Mathew Brady / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain Image source and rights ↗
Historical images, later portraits, reconstructions, and modern topic illustrations are identified in their captions. They are different kinds of evidence.
Try a source investigationVisit a Massachusetts place
Try a source investigation