Solomon Northup's Autobiography, 12 Years A Slave

North America was founded on the industry of chattel slavery and white supremacy. Over five hundred years after the first abolitionist movement, our society has made many strides towards a fairer and equitable society. When trying to understand how slavery impacts society today, it is vital to learn how the social system worked in the past. Solomon Northup's autobiography, 12 Years a Slave, aims to confront the horrors of the slave trade. Born as a free man in New York, Solomon is abducted by slave traders while looking for work and he is sent to the Red River Region of New Orleans, Louisiana in 1841. During the time period, the emancipation of slaves by slave owners was illegal, in New Orleans. The few black people who were free had to carry

Many people made their way into the North to escape the harsher laws of the South. Solomon tries to escape enslavement many times; One-time being on Edwin Epps’ plantation. Solomon asks a white man who works on the same plantation, named Armbsy, to mail a letter for him in exchange for payment. Armbsy agrees to the deal and Solomon writes a letter to his friends in the North, detailing how he was captured and beaten as well as the whereabouts of the documents that could prove he was a freeman; unfortunately, Armsby betrays Solomon by outing him to the abusive slave owner Epps. When he realizes he has been betrayed he says, “My worst fears were realized, and although it may not be entirely credible, even under the circumstances, yet the resort to duplicity and downright falsehood was the only refuge that presented itself” (Northup 153). Solomon preserves never gives up trying to escape slavery and remains hopeful of his return to freedom. His perseverance and persistence aid Solomon, when he tries to escape again. Moreover, after all of his attempts, he finally is able to convince Samuel Bass, a man who works on the same plantation as Solomon, to send a letter to his friends in New York. Solomon states, "After further assurances on his part that I should not be betrayed, I began a relation of the history of my life and misfortunes…I besought him to write to some of my

Although Solomon grew up as a freeman his whole life, his experiences as a slave moved him to become an abolitionist himself, he was no longer content by just being a freeman within the slave system Solomon displays heroism by joining the abolitionist movement in a slave rebellion in Bayou Boeuf. When protesting Solomon states, “I have joined in serious consultation when the subject has been discussed, and there have been times when a word from me would have placed hundreds of my fellow bondsmen in an attitude of defiance…raise my voice against it” (Northup 164). By protesting slavery and supporting the abolitionist movement, Solomon brings awareness to the brutal treatment of slaves, as he is a leader in the protest, and therefore he is able to support the movement. He also understands that nothing will be done by staying silent and enduring abuse and so he and other slaves protest their wrongful treatment. Solomon confronts slavery and leaves a legacy regarding the need to fight for freedom. Additionally, after Solomon escapes and begins to write his autobiography he states, “Those who read this book may form their own opinions…what is in the region of the Red River, is truly and faithfully delineated in these pages. There is no fiction, no exaggeration” (Northup 271). By simply publishing the chronicles of his life, Solomon attempts to bring awareness to the brutality of slavery. The autobiography