Tobacco became the success of Jamestown, Virginia when export to England began in 1619. With the income produced, the city decided to arrange for two imports: 20 black men for manual labor and 90 women from England as brides. Thus America began its history of slavery (Innercity.org 2014). Photographs, art, journalism, and literature displayed its brutality. The public was informed of families torn apart, beatings, murder, and rape. The general theme was inhumanity, but there were many owners of slaves that treated them well. history remembers beatings, rape, murder, and splitting families apart.
The indignities and danger present in the lives of slaves were presented dramatically in “12 Years a Slave”. The author was Solomon Northup and the book was first published in 1853. It tells of his kidnapping, being sold into slavery, his escape attempts, final success with the assistance of abolitionists, and reuniting with his family after twelve years (Northup 1853). The biography promoted the abolition of slavery approximately 10 years before the 13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery, was made into law. The narrative included actual people. Based on these facts and others verified in 1968, “12 years a Slave” became classified as a biography.
An African-American man born free and living with his family in New York, Northrup was abducted and sold into slavery despite his protestations to his rights. He quickly learns only punishment results from his attempts to be set free. Near the beginning of the book, Northup waiting to be sold in the slave trader’s building. A woman is brought out with her two children. The boy is taken from her and accepts his fate, telling his mother he will behave. The woman is beside herself, but retains her little girl. There is a period of sickness in the building, but Northup and the little girl survive even though there was no medical care supplied.
Eventually, a white man comes to buy Northup and decides to take the mother, also. When she becomes distraught at the possibility of losing her daughter in addition to her son, the man offers to buy the girl too for the relief of her mother. The slave trader states she is such an attractive baby he plans to sell her into prostitution when she is a few years older. The woman loses both her children and never sees nor hears from them again. The narration of her loss and her inability to control her grief when removed to the plantation with Northup demonstrate the terrible distress caused by separation of families; this occurred often during the slave trading.
The plantation that becomes Northup’s home has problems with transporting the crops. A trained engineer, he demonstrates his abilities by developing a canal system. Although the plantation manager is pleased by the successful outcome, the white carpenter working on the property is threatened by Northup’s assistance. He attacks Northup, who defends himself. As the carpenter and his friends prepare to lynch the slave, the plantation oversee stops the murder. Northup believes, from his raising as an equal, that he will be released. However he is left for hours to stand on his tiptoes, the noose around neck. While the overseer could not punish the white man, he could he not avoid punishing the black one, either. A poignant section tells how the other slaves try to ignore his plight, making no attempt to help him. They even avoid looking at him as they go about their chores, as though acknowledging what has happened to Northup might allow the same to happen to them.
For ten years Northup lived on a cotton plantation. He watched and experienced the daily whipping of slaves. Again, although the slaves greatly outnumbered the whites, there was no resistance to the mistreatment. A slave was whipped if the amount of cotton he picked was too little. If it was too much, the expectation for his amount was increased for the next day. The punishment of the slaves continued from dusk until bedtime. Even children received 25 lashes for offenses such as leaving a dry leaf in the picked cotton. A slave who argued with his cabin mates received 200 lashes and anyone attempting to escape was lashed 500 times.
Novels, studies, and other information sources focus on the time period of “12 years a Slave” as abolitionists fighting against the institution of slavery; it was presented the Civil War assisted. But circumstances were actually quite different. Slavery in America lasted almost 250 years because it was important to agriculture and industry. Because of this importance, abolitionists had neither the influence not the numbers to end it.
Slavery was not abolished because people were inflamed about the morality of the mistreatment of black people; religions did not create freedom for them. Lack of profitability ended slavery. As the Civil War prompted the hiring of white men into salaried positions, slave owners saw the advantage to using them rather than slaves (Moore 2014). A plantation owner could not “fire’ a slave for poor performance or breaking equipment. Fear was the only motivator, and it became apparent it was a poor one. As this concept began to take root in the South, the abolitionists found increasing numbers supporting their activities.
Politics during the Civil War were also influential. While advocates against slavery were the minority, Lincoln promoted freedom for black people to justify declaring war on the southern states. Defeat of the largely agricultural section of the country would allow manufacturing to dominate the economy, create a coalition of the states, and allow the black population to become available for work in the factories and export companies.
Considering the more colorful style of writing today, “12 Years a Slave” seems a little dry. It can be difficult to create the visual of what he experienced and related. But knowing the book is factual brings more credibility to the words. Slavery in America was a period of upheaval and a challenge to the humanity of its citizens. With literature similar to “12 Years a Slave”, the people in this country remember to put their morality before economic incentivesm, eing watchful in society that it does not happen again.
Works Cited
Innercity.org. 'Chronology On The History Of Slavery 1619 To 1789'. N.p., 2014. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.
Moore, Jason. 'Too Many People Think The Abolition Of Slavery Was About Anti-Racism, But This Explains Why It Was Not - Atlanta Blackstar'. Atlanta Blackstar. N.p., 2014. Web. 9
Dec. 2014.
Northup, Solomon. 12 Years A Slave. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 1853. Print.
Vorenberg, Michael. Final Freedom: The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print.
