Slave: Solomon Northup and Slavery Research Proposal

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Obviously, Burch beat Northup on his bare behind which certainly must have welted the skin. With this description, it is easy to see the brutal severity of such treatment which was often used not only as a form of punishment but also as a form of intimidation and as a warning not to attempt to escape. For Northup, this experience truly changed his outlook on living as a slave, for he admits that during the writing of his narrative, "Even now (my) flesh crawls upon my bones as I recall the scene. I was all on fire. My sufferings I can compare to nothing else than the burning agonies of hell!" (45).

As told in Chapter Seven, sometime later, after being sold into slavery by Burch and his band of slave traders, Northup found himself in New Orleans, where he encountered his new master, William Ford, who lived in the "Great Pine Woods" in the Louisiana parish of Avoyelles on the banks of the Red River (89). According to Northup, Mr. Ford, viewed by his fellow white citizens as "a worthy minister of God" despite owning slaves, was "kind, noble (and) candid" but ironically "never doubted the moral right of one man holding another in subjection" (i.e., bondage) and was overall "a model master" (90). In fact, Northup found Mr. Ford so congenial and level-headed that he considered telling him of his true identity which Northup thought

"would have resulted in my benefit" (90), an indication that Ford might have set Northup free as he once was before being kidnapped. However, Northup "resolved to lock the secret closely in my heart" (91), due to realizing that by revealing his true identity, it might consign him "to the remoter depths of slavery" (90).

Lastly, in Chapter Twenty-Two, Northup describes how he became once again a freeman, unbounded by the shackles of slavery and free from the tyranny and violence of his white slave masters.

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On January 17th, 1853, in the city of Richmond, Northup and his attorney swore out a complaint against James H. Burch "for kidnapping and selling me into slavery;" Burch was then arrested but because of his stature as a white slave trader, he was given bail and released. However, after much sworn testimony, Northup was given his freedom (312-313). After considering how pervasive slavery was in the city of Richmond, being the home of the Confederacy during the Civil War and serving as one of the major centers for the buying and selling of human beings in the South, Northup was indeed a very fortunate man, for he could have easily ended up in the hands of another brutal master like Burch or perhaps in the bondage of certain white slave traders who viewed African-Americans as nothing less than animals.

In his concluding remarks, Northup has chosen not to dwell on his own perspectives related to slavery, but he does state that everything in his narrative is "no fiction, no exaggeration" and adds "I doubt not hundreds have been as unfortunate as myself; that hundreds of free citizens have been kidnapped and sold into slavery, and are at this moment wearing out their lives on plantations in Texas and Louisiana" (321). Thus, after reading Northup's often terrifying account of his years as a slave, one lesson stands out above all others, namely, that freedom and liberty, often taken for granted, can be snatched away in the blink of an eye when one least expects it, especially when men like Burch are given the ability to roam the country at will and tragically interfere with the lives of individuals who simply wish to be left to their own destinies and devices.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Du Bois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. Intro. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York: Bantam

Classic, 2005.

Northup, Solomon. Twelve….....

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