Twelve Years a Slave. Solomon Northup

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       Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available:

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      ISBN 9780857089069 (hardback)

      ISBN 9780857089083 (epub)

      ISBN 9780857089090 (ePDF)

       BY DAVID FISKE

      Slavery is among the greatest stains on human history. Appropriating a person's ability and right to pursue a livelihood and life of his or her own choosing – not temporarily, but for the remainder of their life – is a gross violation of natural law.

      In the United States, the legacy of slavery – born out of endemic racism – is a cross the nation still bears. We all wish that slavery had been erased from our communities much earlier than it was. Slave narratives like Twelve Years a Slave rend the heart of every reader, and are a portal for deeper understanding of what happened.

      This Introduction looks at the contribution of Solomon Northup's book to that understanding. I will try to give an account of the world in which Northup lived, the man himself, the kidnapping phenomenon, and finally how far we have come on slavery since Twelve Years a Slave was written.

      ***

      Having obtained a copy of Twelve Years a Slave, like most people I found it riveting and began to wonder about the rest of the story. Northup's narrative ends in 1853, the year he was liberated and rejoined his family. But what was the remainder of his life like? He had experienced horrific things as an enslaved man and must have had trouble dealing with them, even after regaining his freedom (today, we would likely say he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder). I had just learned the basics of genealogical research, and realized that the types of resources used by family history researchers could be put to work to learn more about Northup's later life.

      In 1999, Union College in Schenectady, New York, commemorated Northup with an exhibit and also a series of lectures and seminars coordinated by Union College's Professor Clifford Brown. Local awareness of Northup's story was enhanced by the placing of a historical marker in Saratoga Springs, New York, and also the creation of Solomon Northup Day by African American resident Renee Moore.

      It had been my hope that with the film's success, my research would gain attention and that some helpful person would come forward and shed light on the most aggravating aspect of my Northup quest: the circumstances of his death. Though I have received some information, the mystery of his final years is yet to be solved.

      An illustration of Advertisement placed by James H. Birch, the slave dealer who originally purchased Solomon Northup.Advertisement placed by James H. Birch, the slave dealer who originally purchased Solomon Northup. From Birch's slave pen in Alexandria, Virginia (now the Freedom House Museum), Northup was sold on to slave dealers in Louisiana.

      What was Northup, the man, actually like? Information on his personality can be gleaned from several sources. There is, of course, his own narrative, which gives the impression that he was hard-working, affable, observant, and highly intelligent. He was generally well-respected, even by those who knew him only as a slave. In addition to Northup's own words, we have the accounts of those who knew him, or who had encountered him. There is also a documentary record which provides insight on aspects of his personality and behavior.

      At the back of Twelve Years a Slave, transcriptions are included of affidavits sworn to by numerous individuals from the town where he had grown up. These describe him – and also his wife, and his father Mintus (a former slave) – as being well-respected in the community. Henry B. Northup, the white attorney who made the arduous trip to Louisiana to find and free Northup (and who was intent on bringing to justice the two men who had lured Northup away from Saratoga Springs), stated that he was “well acquainted with said Solomon … from his childhood.”

      Even as a slave, Northup gained the respect of others for his abilities, and was seen as a reliable person. Somewhat surprisingly, his plantation master Edwin Epps, when talking to Union soldiers during the Civil War, admitted that Northup's book was largely true, and described Northup as “an unusually 'smart nigger’”. (1)

      Northup neglects to inform us of some aspects of his pre-slavery life. At about the time he was a farmer in Washington County, he became indebted to the point that legal proceedings were started against him. While living in Saratoga Springs, he had some run-ins with the law (according to local records, which are frustratingly short on details). At one point he was fired from a rafting job because the man who had hired him believed he was too inebriated to safely guide the raft. Northup took the man to court, and witnesses testified that Northup had indeed been drinking, but not to the point

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