How Did Solomon Northup Dehumanize His Life As A Slave

Solomon Northup, in his autobiography 12 Years A Slave, uses religious language to depict the horrendous nature of institutional slavery and slaveholders. In specific, the primary use of religious language in Northup’s autobiography is to express his and many other slaves’ sufferings and subjugation, to present the biblical justification adopted by slaveholders to mistreat their slaves, and to convey the significance of religion to him and the African American slaves; therefore, religious language is not a tool utilised to dramatise or supplement substance in his story. It is the true voice of Northup that arises from his faith and belief in Christianity as well as other African American slaves.

In contrast to the other three colonies discussed, the institution of slavery in South Carolina was initiated, legalized, and maintained for distinct reasons; the founders of the colony felt that slavery was absolutely necessary for economic prosperity and their unwavering urge to protect the institution at all costs contributed towards the severity of the slave-enforcement acts and codes. By looking at the legislation passed in South Carolina, one can grasp the extent to which slaves were legally stripped of every right imaginable, suffered barbarous treatment, and were attempted to be rendered psychologically and physically powerless--all because of the deep-seated fear of the enslaved population that was instilled within white slave owners and law-makers. In South Carolina, slavery was a horrendous business that was never questioned ethically or legally. The white settlers coming from Barbados--who had already been involved in the slave trade for years--migrated to South Carolina equipped with slaves already accustomed to difficult climate conditions (similar to South Carolina), which made them more pleasurable to slave owners expecting a strong work force. Another unique aspect to South Carolina was the overwhelming black majority in the colony for it is true that, “by 1708, less than twenty years after the decision to move from white indentured labor to black slave labor, the number of blacks in the colony exceeded whites,” (Higginbotham, 1978, pg. 152). Due to the

 Northup served a number of masters. Some brutally cruel and others whose humanity he praised. Each plantation had its own set of morals, codes, and rules, but all slaves had a slave master they had to obey no matter what. Treatments such as mutilation, branding, chaining, and murder regulated. Which means it was not against the law in the south to do these disgusting things to human beings. The way slave owners treated the slaves put a barrier between whites and blacks. This made African American look and whites in an almost hateful way. They wanted to rebel but knew the consequence that came with that. And for years to come the relationship between whites and blacks where influenced by slavery.

Looking at the social order at the time is important to understanding what is to come. While the slaves were now free and able to do as they pleased, there was still a deeply embedded racism within the minds of Southern whites. Just because blacks had fought in the Civil War did not suddenly mean that the perception of blacks had changed; rather to the Southern elites, they still viewed blacks as inferior and only good for labor, longing to perpetuate the slave system but within a new industrial framework seeing as how the agricultural framework had been destroyed. This new system was to be found in through convict leasing.

Slavery in the south created their own image of themselves, as well as “King Cotton,” that would leave no room for questioning the morality of an institution that they depended on.

Among everyone else, the mistreated black slaves, the degraded whites, and whites who wanted to abolish slavery where the free blacks. By the year 1860 there were about two hundred and fifty thousand free black people in the United States. These blacks gained their freedom from either being born and having heir father being a white planer, or in some cases they could have bought their freedom buying making money for extra work. Even though these blacks were considered to be free, they were still discriminated against and were unable to testify against whites in court or work for or in certain places. Being a free black was not easy and in the North they were unable to go to many public schools,in no way could they vote, and even some of the northern states would not let them even enter. Strangely, even though later on it seems to people that the North loved the blacks out of all the areas of America Northerners had a much stronger anti black feeling towards them. This was so because in a way the North for some reason liked the idea of the black race but could not stand an individual black. This was the opposite in the south with the southerners relating more and liking more the individual more so than the race itself.

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

Slavery has been a deep wound in early American history and still to this date we see the reaping effects of our past. Slavery was a vile environment and a disgusting time in history, which had no humanity, it was inhumane. In American history we seldom hear the stories of the free new native African Americans in the 17th century. Solomon Northup was a native African American free man whom was kidnapped and sold to slavery. The hope in my research is not to victimize Solomon Northup, instead trace the history of slavery in all its forms to make sense of the origins of wealth inequality and the roots of discrimination we see today.

Slavery has and always will be considered an intolerable and inhumane part of our history. We all have some knowledge about slavery; some maybe more than others. I’m sure we all remember as a child learning about the Underground Railroad and Martin Luther King Jr. during Black History Month in February. When you read “Africans in America: Judgment Day–Part 4: 1831 – 1865”, it will shed light on several historical events that you might not be aware of. The information obtained in this article will take you in-depth on actual events that one might find strikingly interesting.

After several years of slavery black people became free with the 13th amendment. Even though they were technically free black people were not treated that way. This was true all over the United States, but very apparent than in the south. That just happens to be where we find John Howard Griffin in his book Black Like Me where John, a white man attempts to disguise himself as a black man to reveal to the world the truth about how black people are treated in the south. What he finds impacts him more than he thought possible.

While this is not an entirely accurate account of slavery in North Carolina, it is a representation of the unjust history regarding black people in America. Africans were kidnapped, ripped from their homes, and brought to America against their will. They were then forced to work in bondage until they died, unwelcome on the land of which they were forced to work as tools for

After reading Solomon Northup's Twelve Years A Slave, I was overwhelmed with his experience. He was born a free man in New York in 1808. In 1841 he was tricked, captured, and sold into slavery in Washington, D.C. Throughout his book, Solomon goes into details describing his life as a slave, which validates our critique of slavery. As abolitionists, it is our duty to do something about slavery. Although, as abolitionists, we have a history of disagreements among us, it time to put a stop to our arguments and start fighting for something we all believe in - to abolish slavery. While the growing cotton economy has made slavery more attractive than ever before to most southern people, slavery has to be abolished based on these reasons:

Defining the American: A Critical Analysis and Comparison of Solomon Northup’s Autobiography 12 Years a Slave and Steve McQueen’s 2013 Film Adaptation

Solomon Northup is a prime example of the cruel treatment black people received. He was deceived into thinking he was joining two fellow performers to work in Washington at a circus, but instead was drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery. He tries to plead his case and fight for his freedom but all he gets in return are blows to his back until he accepts his new role as a Georgia runaway slave. This is not only an example of how black people were physically abused, but also how they were psychologically abused. As soon as he is kidnapped, he is stripped away from everything he once was and everything he once knew. He is given a new name and identity and if he dared to proclaim otherwise, it would cost him his life. It is unfortunate that black men and women in the North were never actually safe, even if they were born free, they risked getting abducted and sold to slave owners in the South, just like Solomon was. Kidnapping was not the only cruel act in which black people were targeted, they were also humiliated and treated as less than a white person.

Before the Reconstruction which took place after the Civil War, many slaves began to acquire their freedom by many things, including escaping plantations, buying their freedom, or being granted freedom from their former owners. Once slaves entered the North, they were able to finally be seen as a free African American. The thing that scared African Americans the most, frequently happened, being sent back to the South into slavery. 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup gives a recap of how his life, filled with joy and freedom one day, became a living nightmare the next. Northup, a self-taught, master violin player is fooled into traveling with “gentlemen” to share his talents for a small fortune. Leaving his family behind, he decides to go with the men and once he reaches New York City, the men convince Northup to travel to Washington D.C. Solomon soon began feeling sick and one day wakes up chained in a cell. Next thing he knows, he is being sold into slavery. He lives a life of a slave for twelve years until he is rescued by Henry B. Northup, who saves Solomon while he was working in the field. Once back in his own home, Solomon writes an autobiography of his experiences. After many decades, a historical movie retelling Solomon’s autobiography was released. Throughout the movie, many differences are present. For example, the wife of Solomon’s master was portrayed to be an evil woman in the movie, but in the book not so evil. Another example is while slaves did not fight back