The Courts

Introduction

Of course, just because Congress passes laws doesn’t guarantee how well they will be enforced. While difficult to accomplish, it remains a fact that at least in some cases, violations of the Slave Trade act of 1794 and its 1800 amendment were brought to trial successfully.

Federal Cases

A detail taken from the print titled “State-House, with a view of Chestnut Street Philadelphia.” Birch’s Views, 1800. The State House (aka Independence Hall) is in the right foreground of the image, while Old City Hall recedes on the left. Judge Richard Peters’ U.S. District Court Room — where the Ganges trial took place — was on the second floor of the latter building. It still stands at the corner of 5th and Chestnut, Philadelphia.1

This first three cases in this section resulted from prosecutions under this law. This includes the two cases brought in the U.S. District Court of Judge Richard Peters:

You will find the case details in their respective sections as linked above.

The third of these cases, U.S. vs the Sloop Betsey, predated those of the Phoebe and Prudent by a few months and with less successful results. Although the Betsey itself was ultimately condemned and sold, she was first allowed to proceed to Havana where her human cargo was sold before continuing on to her home port of Charleston.

Related Litigation

In the course of the project research, I have come across two other cases which, although not directly related to violations of the Slave Trade Act, do directly involve several of the principals involved in the Ganges Incident and shed light on the risks and financial challenges faced by the American owners and vessels engaging in the illegal foreign slave trade in 1800.

  1. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. “State-House, with a view of Chesnut Street Philadelphia.” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed January 22, 2026. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/dcf39080-c5ec-012f-7209-58d385a7bc34 ↩︎