There are several main characters in the movie Amistad. Probably the most important is the character Cinque, the slave who leads the other slaves in a mutiny against the slave traders who are holding them captive on the slave ship called La Amistad. Other characters of note include the men who support Cinque and his fellow Africans when they are put on trial for murder - the abolitionist Theodore Johnson and attorney Roger Baldwin. The president at the time, Martin Van Buren is more interested in getting re-elected than seeing any real justice done and does not have a problem with the Africans being found guilty and executed. Also of note is the fiery former president John Quincy Adams who returns to law practice to help fight for the Africans.

             The slave trade was a lucrative business at that time. In fact, it was cheaper to import a slave from Africa than to raise a slave on a plantation. The Europeans and the slave traders made huge amounts of money and the slaves provided free labor to the plantation owners who had them raise crops for them like cotton and tobacco. This in turn affected the American economy. To take the part against these slaves would mean that slavery would be wrong, which brought into clear focus many issues regarding states rights, equality and economic realities of the south, none of which the Americans wanted to face at that time. The Amistad case put all these issues in the American spotlight and they could not turn away. The treatment of these slaves, almost in a subhuman way, was also brought to light. In addition, the case of The Amistad also brought to light the fact that slaves were humans and not necessarily happy to be brought from Africa to work in America and highlighted the other resistance movements against slavery in the United States.

             The main element of change for the characters in Amistad revolves around change. The movie is shown from the viewpoint of black and white characters and shows the conflict which many of them face, as well as the unknown prejudices many of them had.