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Northup, a Black man born free who sometimes toured as a musician in New York State, explains how the promise of work drew him to Washington, D.C., where instead he was seized and sold as a slave in the Deep South.
Inside the book
- Free nowno account · 2 chapters
- —Introduction2 min
- 1INTRODUCTORY—ANCESTRY—THE NORTHUP FAMILY—BIRTH AND P...15 min
- Premium21 chapters · every book, 7 days free
- 2THE TWO STRANGERS—THE CIRCUS COMPANY—DEPARTURE FROM...16 min
- 3PAINFUL MEDITATIONS—JAMES H20 min
- 4ELIZA'S SORROWS—PREPARATION TO EMBARK—DRIVEN THROUGH...16 min
- 5ARRIVAL AT NORFOLK—FREDERICK AND MARIA—ARTHUR, THE F...19 min
- 6FREEMAN'S INDUSTRY—CLEANLINESS AND CLOTHES—EXERCISIN...16 min
- 7THE STEAMBOAT RODOLPH—DEPARTURE FROM NEW-ORLEANS—WIL...22 min
- 8FORD'S EMBARRASSMENTS—THE SALE TO TIBEATS—THE CHATTE...18 min
- 9THE HOT SUN—YET BOUND—THE CORDS SINK INTO MY FLESH—C...18 min
- 10RETURN TO TIBEATS—IMPOSSIBILITY OF PLEASING HIM—HE A...21 min
- 11THE MISTRESS' GARDEN—THE CRIMSON AND GOLDEN FRUIT—OR...23 min
- 12PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF EPPS—EPPS, DRUNK AND SOBER—A...20 min
- 13THE CURIOUS AXE-HELVE—SYMPTOMS OF APPROACHING ILLNES...21 min
- 14DESTRUCTION OF THE COTTON CROP IN 1845—DEMAND FOR LA...23 min
- 15LABORS ON SUGAR PLANTATIONS—THE MODE OF PLANTING CAN...21 min
- 16OVERSEERS—HOW THEY ARE ARMED AND ACCOMPANIED—THE HOM...19 min
- 17WILEY DISREGARDS THE COUNSELS OF AUNT PHEBE AND UNCL...20 min
- 18O'NIEL, THE TANNER—CONVERSATION WITH AUNT PHEBE OVER...18 min
- 19AVERY, OF BAYOU ROUGE—PECULIARITY OF DWELLINGS—EPPS...23 min
- 20BASS FAITHFUL TO HIS WORD—HIS ARRIVAL ON CHRISTMAS E...14 min
- 21THE LETTER REACHES SARATOGA—IS FORWARDED TO ANNE—IS...29 min
- 22ARRIVAL IN NEW-ORLEANS—GLIMPSE OF FREEMAN—GENOIS, TH...18 min
The opening
Introduction
When the editor commenced the preparation of the following narrative, he did not suppose it would reach the size of this volume. In order, however, to present all the facts which have been communicated to him, it has seemed necessary to extend it to its present length.
Many of the statements contained in the following pages are corroborated by abundant evidence—others rest entirely upon Solomon's assertion. That he has adhered strictly to the truth, the editor, at least, who has had an opportunity of detecting any contradiction or discrepancy in his statements, is well satisfied. He has invariably repeated the same story without deviating in the slightest particular, and has also carefully perused the manuscript, dictating an alteration wherever the most trivial inaccuracy has appeared.
It was Solomon's fortune, during his captivity, to be owned by several masters. The treatment he received while at the "Pine Woods" shows that among slaveholders there are men of humanity as well as of cruelty. Some of them are spoken of with emotions of gratitude—others in a spirit of bitterness. It is believed that the following account of his experience on Bayou Boeuf presents a correct picture of Slavery, in all its lights and shadows, as it now exists in that locality. Unbiased, as he conceives, by any prepossessions or prejudices, the only object of the editor has been to give a faithful history of Solomon Northup's life, as he received it from his lips.
In the accomplishment of that object, he trusts he has succeeded, notwithstanding the numerous faults of style and of expression it may be found to contain.
DAVID WILSON. WHITEHALL, N. Y., May, 1853.
About the author
Solomon Northup
1808 Minerva – 1864
Solomon Northup was born free in 1807 or 1808 in Essex County, New York, the son of a formerly enslaved man, and worked as a farmer, a rafter on the canals and a well-known violinist in Saratoga Springs, where he lived with his wife and three children. In 1841 two men offered him work with a circus and took him to Washington, where he was drugged, chained and sold. For nearly twelve years he was held on plantations in Louisiana under a false name. A letter finally reached his family and friends, and he was freed in 1853. He told his story in Twelve Years a Slave the same year.
- 1808Born, Minerva
- 1853Twelve Years a Slave
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Solomon Northup's memoir and slave narrative came out in 1853; he told his story to David Wilson, who edited it. More on Solomon Northup
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