Summary Of Solomon Northup's 12 Years A Slave

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12 Years a Slave Have you ever wondered about what people went through during slavery for a long period of time? In 12 Years a Slave, it talks about a certain person’s point of view and their history. 12 Years a slave is one of the most detailed slave narratives that was written by Solomon Northup and published in 1853. When the book got published, it brought many problems, since it named several slave owners and the things that they would do with their slaves. The purpose of the book was to fight slavery and terminate it completely, not only that, also to expose those who supported slavery and to show what actually happened throughout the twelve years. Due to the acceptance of slavery, African Americans were being captured for the purpose …show more content…

This was happening 2 years after the capture of Northup. In response to the weakening of the original fugitive slave act, the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 penalized officials who did not arrest an alleged runaway slave, and made them liable to a fine of $1,000. This is what pushed the officials to stop whoever seemed like a runaway slave. Another significant impact that had a connection with Northup’s narrative was the Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which was a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and published in March 20, 1852. 12 years a slave was one of the biggest examples used in Stowe’s narrative and it was also the key to that book. The purpose of the book was to describe how the author was against slavery and that the nation viewed slavery as something great and successful, but it actually wasn’t. This book had a great impact on the people which made them change their way of looking at slavery, the system that treated people like property, especially African Americans. Although this publication had a great impact on society, it was banned by the fire eaters, the people who supported the system of slavery. As a response to the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, there was a publication of Aunt Phillis’ Cabin. This book was written by Mary Henderson Eastman which was a plantation fiction

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