Solomon Northup's Report

Both his white owner and his white protector have caused Northup to suffer unnecessarily something that will have in the back of his mind. Tibeats, of course is cruel but Chapin is negligent in his part. In the heat of the day and the physical torment, Northup’s thoughts wander to the argument that southern blacks were happy in their servitude. None of the southern slaves fed and whipped by his owner Northup says in his agony, is more content than a free black man in the North. Northup also uses this chapter as an opportunity to shame the corrupted southern legal system that denied basic civil rights to its black citizens. If Tibeat would’ve killed Northup no slave would be able to testify against Tibeat. This injustice is another of the

At the beginning of the movie, Solomon Northrup, while his wife and kids are on a trip, was invited by fellow performers to play the violin at circus events with a generous pay for doing so. He ate dinner with these performers and then woke up in chains. It turns out that the men who invited him to perform ended up drugging him and taking him to slave hunters, claiming he was Platt, a runaway slave from Georgia. Northrup and others either accused of being slaves or actual slaves traveled by carriage and ship until he and Eliza, an actual slave and mother, were sold to Master Ford, making Solomon Northrup a slave. At the end of the movie, Solomon’s second owner, Master Epps, hired a Canadian man to help build a gazebo near his house. Since the Canadian outwardly admitted his belief in racial equality, Northrup asked him to do one favor: send some letters he would write to people he knew as an attempt to tell people of

Solomon Northup was an African American, born a free man, who lived in Saratoga Springs, New York with his wife Anne Hampton and their three children. Northup was a skilled violinist and farmer who was seeking employment in the spring of 1841; one night he met two men at a saloon, who both identified themselves to be affiliated with a circus, and they convinced him to accompany them on a journey to New York to perform with his superb violin skills on their traveling music show. They persuaded him by offering a very generous wage of “one dollar for each day’s services, and three dollars in addition for every night [he] played at their performances” (2). Originally he was only going to New York but he was persuaded to travel further to Washington D.C. – a state where slavery was legal. On route to Washington D.C. he was drugged by the two men (identified as Breach and Hamilton) who subsequently sold him into slavery at an auction in New Orleans. This was common for many “free” African Americans; predominantly males for their ability to be harder working in the fields. Often times the “Negros” would be kidnapped or lured away from their home with offers too good to be true and upon their capture they would be drugged, beaten and bonded to be sold into slavery; much like Solomon Northup. A great majority of the time their case would be hopeless if they tried to prove they were “free men” and they would be beaten for even mentioning the word “free”.

Edwin Epps was a cruel man that ruled over his slaves with an iron fist. Solomon tried to pay a white man, who came to work on the plantation, to mail a letter to his family to let them know where he was and to help him. The man betrayed Solomon and told Epps about the letter, luckily Solomon convinced Epps that the man was a drunkard and liar. Eventually, a man named Bass with Canadian origins, came to build Epps a house on the plantation. Bass tells Solomon (2014), “I’m tired of Slavery as well as you. If I can succeed in getting you away from here, it will be a good act that I shall like to think of all my life. And I shall succeed, Platt; I’m bound to do it” (p. 121). The persistence of Bass and Solomon

In the book 12 Years A Slave written from a primary source by Solomon Northup based on a true story describes the triumphant journey Solomon Northup goes through as he never lost hope of regaining his freedom and resisted the dehumanization of enslavement in many ways. Solomon was born a free black man in New York in 1808 while his father, Mintus was born a slave and gained his freedom as their master passed away also inheriting their masters last name "Northup". Growing Solomon worked on a farm with his dad and soon after his dad died in 1829 he soon married a women named Anne Hampton in which they soon moved to Saratoga Springs, New York and had three children of their own. They were living like any other free person was and soon Solomon was working in many industries and Anne established herself as a cook and in the 1830 's Solomon had a reputation of being a well played violinist. In 1841 Solomon had became unemployed and was looking for an occupation, he ran into Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton in who then offers him a job in a circus playing the violin. As they arrive in Washington D.C. which is slave territory, he begins to become sick and passes out which was planned by Merrill and Abram to poison and kidnap him in the slave territory and sell him in which he soon wakes up in chains in a slave pen. Solomon 's first master was James H. Burch who he was sold by the two men who had

Solomon Northup was a free black man living in Saratoga Springs, New York. Northup had a wife and three children he loved greatly. Solomon was a very busy man, he worked long hours on a farm. Northup was an educated man who enjoyed reading books and playing his violin in his spare time. (Northup 1-10) One day two strangers approached Northup and asked if he would like to join them to perform in a town miles away. Solomon agrees to join these white men on their journey to perform. Little did Solomon know that these men were in a business where they capture free and escaped black men to make money.

"It is a fact I have more than once observed, that those who treated their slaves most leniently, were rewarded by the greatest amount of labor. I know it from my own experience. It was a source of pleasure to surprise Master Ford with a greater day's work than was required, while, under subsequent masters, there was no prompter to extra effort but the overseer's lash. It was the desire of Ford's approving voice that suggested to an idea that resulted to his profit" (Northup 98).

Through Solomon Northup’s story, viewers learn that socioeconomic status is no exception from racial realities. Solomon Northup was an educated, refined free black in the 1840s. His only mistake was thinking that being born free meant he was safe from the demonstration of white supremacy in America. Especially during this time, it didn't matter that he was educated, musically talented, and a family man, a person of color was threatened in a white, capitalist society and through the heartbreaking story of Solomon Northup, 12 Years a Slave shows this sad time in American

Solomon Northup was born as a freeman; he lived with his wife and two children in New York early 19th century. He was a great musician who played violin. One day in the year of 1841, Northup received an offer for a job in Washington D.C. from two white guys, Brown and Hamilton. Northup gladly accepted the offer and travelled with them to Washington D.C. However, he was drugged and kidnapped to a slave jail where he woke up with chains on his arms and legs. Northup tried to explain to the jail guard that he is a freeman from New York but people insisted that he is a slave from Georgia. Northup was then shipped down to the South where he lived with the name Platt and was sold to William Ford, a priest and also a plantation owner. While working as a slave, Platt gave Ford a brilliant idea on how to transport logs faster. Ford loved the idea and then rewarded him his favorite thing, the violin. However as Platt gaining favor from Ford, he angered Tibeats, one of the masters in the house. Because Platt didn’t listen to what Tibeats instructed, tension between these two increasing over time. In the end, they both fought. Tibeats with his friends tried to hang Platt up but then, this poor guy was saved by Ford and the slave guard.

Ford was known as being very kind to Solomon. However, William Prince Ford had to give Solomon back to the slave market due to finances. Northup’s second owner was John M. Tibaut who was very brutal to Solomon. Northup was later rescued by Ford’s overseer, Andrew Chafin. He was then sent to Edwin Epps and was a slave under him for the next ten years. His owner, Edwin Epps, put Solomon in charge over the rest of the slaves. Solomon tried many times to escape, but was never successful. Finally, in June of 1852, he was able to send letters to his friends and family back home in New York. In these letters, he told them where he was and all that had happened to him. In November of 1852, there was a widespread search in order to find Solomon. Solomon was found in the same year. On January 4, 1853, Solomon legally obtained total freedom. He was then reunited with his family and friends.

Solomon Northup was born free, in Minerva, New York in 1808. Northup became known in his community as an exceptional fiddle player. When two men approached Northup and offered him good wages to go to Washington DC, to play in a travelling music show, he quickly accepted. Solomon Northup was drugged, kidnapped, captured, and sold into slavery. He served for many masters; some were violent and cruel while others treated him humanely. Solomon Northup experienced shear torture, cruelty, and the loss of his dignity, throughout his many years as a slave. After many years, he came in contact with an abolitionist, who sent letters to Northup’s family to notify them of his life and status. He was soon rescued from Louisiana and freed as a slave.

Solomon Northup was a free African American man from Minerva, New York. In the novel Twelve Years a Salve, Northup composed a narrative about his life as a free man, and also his life as a slave. In the year of 1814 Northup was kidnapped and taken deep South, to the rugged life of slavery. After 12 years of being thrown into the slavery against his will, he rightfully regained his freedom in January of 1853 all because he came in contact with an abolitionist from Canada, who sent letters to his family about his situation.

Bass came to do some work for Epps. Bass was from canada, he had very different views on slavery than that of Epps, he thought slavery was wrong and unlawful: “I tell you what it is, Epps, said Bass, “it's all wrong-all wrong, sir-there's no justice nor righteousness in it. I wouldn't own a slave if I was rich as Croesus, which I am not, as is perfectly well understood, more particularly among my creditors. But this question of slavery; what right have you to your niggers when you come down to the point”(Northup pg. 178)? Northrup overheard the conversation between Bass and Epps, he was happy to know Bass was against slavery. The knowledge of this gave Northrup the courage to tell Bass the truth about his past, how he is a free man from New York city. Northrup asked Bass if he would write a letter to his friends in the North, and tell them what happened to him. He hoped if his friends got word of his situation they would be able to help him back to freedom. Bass agreed to Northrup's request with great courage, for if anyone found out Bass could be murdered along with

Solomon Northup describes Patsy, as, “excoriated. Her back bore the scars of a thousand stripes; not because she was backward in her work, nor because she was of an unmindful and rebellious spirit, but because it had fallen to her lot to be the slave of a licentious master and a jealous mistress.”( 189, Northup) The ordeals that Patsey endured were heart wrenching, things that she went through should have drove her insane. In fact, the horrors and heartbreak drove Pastey to endure no

Solomon Northup was born a freeman in New York in 1808 (3). His father, who had been a slave until his owner death had granted him his freedom in his, wills (5). In 1829, Northup married Anne Hampton and worked as a laborer in Hartford (6). However, Solomon was captured after being tricked by slave traders to work