New Haven was home to one of the important early events in the burgeoning anti-slavery movement when , in 1839 , the trial of mutineering Mende tribesmen being transported as slaves on the Spanish slaveship '' Amistad '' was held in New Haven 's United States District Court . There is a statue of Joseph Cinqué , the informal leader of the slaves , beside City Hall . See " Museums " below for more information . Abraham Lincoln delivered a speech on slavery in New Haven in 1860 , shortly before he secured the Republican nomination for President
Republican nomination for President
1860 Republican National Convention
New Haven, Connecticut