Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup

Solomon Northup

sept 2010 · Badgley Publishing Company

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The year was 1841. That "Peculiar Institution" of slavery was running full bore in the south. Solomon Northup, age 33, a well-educated black man who was born into freedom, resided with his wife and three children in his native state of New York. Solomon was kidnapped and sold into slavery in our nation's capital...Washington, D.C. The perpetrators of this crime, in order to sell Solomon, insisted he was an escaped slave from Georgia. Whenever Solomon protested and declared himself a free man, he was terribly beaten...once near to death. Solomon was sold and transported to Louisiana where he spent twelve long years of suffering, degradation, whippings and hard labor as a slave. For fear of his life, he had to give up the idea of convincing his masters and others that he was actually a free man and a citizen of New York and he resigned himself to the accept the life of a slave. But, through his years of captivity, he never once stopped believing that one day... he would be freed and again become united with his family in New York. The enslavement of the black race was an everyday fact of life from the earliest settlement of this country up to the end of the Civil War, which brought a close to this shameful period of our history. In the 1840's there were many... very many white people who opposed this concept of forced labor and the maltreatment of fellow human beings. The voices of these abolitionists were becoming louder and louder not only in the north where slavery was practically non-existent, but even in the heart of the south also. One of these, Samuel Bass, a Canadian by birth, put his own life in jeopardy to free Solomon. This book gives, in chilling detail, an account of a way of life that hopefully will never, ever, occur again in this great country... the "Land of the Free!"

This
book is part of the Historical Collection of Badgley Publishing Company and has
been re-created from the original.  The
original contents have been edited and corrections have been made to original
printing, spelling and grammatical errors when not in conflict with the
author’s intent to portray a particular event or interaction.  Annotations have been made and additional
content has been added by Badgley Publishing Company in order to clarify
certain historical events or interactions and to enhance the author’s content.
Photos and illustrations from the original have been touched up, enhanced and sometimes
enlarged for better viewing.  Additional
illustrations and photos have been added by Badgley Publishing Company. 

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Solomon Northup was a free-born African American from Saratoga Springs, New York. He is noted for having been kidnapped in 1841 when enticed with a job offer. When he accompanied his supposed employers to Washington, DC, they drugged him and sold him into slavery. From Washington, DC, he was transported to New Orleans where he was sold to a plantation owner from Rapides Parish, Louisiana. After 12 years in bondage, he regained his freedom in January 1853. Solomon Northup's memoir was reprinted several times later in the 19th century. An annotated version was published in 1968; the memoir was adapted and produced as a 2013 film by the same name by Steve McQueen, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as Northup. Since 1999, Saratoga Springs, New York, has celebrated an annual Solomon Northup Day on the third Saturday in July.