the other slaves. The group then took control of the ship. They ordered the two surviving members of the crew to return them to their homes in Africa from which they were unlawfully taken. The two Spanish crew members, however, tricked Africans. They sailed one way during the day and another at night. They hoped that perhaps a British ship in those waters would save them. After two months at sea, the Amistad found itself in United States waters. The ship was eventually spotted by the Navy, and everyone aboard was arrested. At the time these kidnapped Africans arrived in the United States, the abolitionist movement was on the rise. This movement was against all forms of human enslavement. As media attention and stories about the Amistad passed throughout New York, the abolitionists took advantage of the attention to publicize their cause. A group known as the Amistad Committee quickly formed. This group fought to ensure that the captive slaves were granted their right to freedom. The surviving crew members argued that the Africans were their legal property and demanded that they be returned. The committee in turn hired a lawyer to represent the Africans. The the legal argument in favor of the