Twelve Years a Slave

The memoir recounts Solomon Northup's harrowing experience of being kidnapped and sold into slavery after being deceived into traveling to Washington, D.C. Born free in New York, he endured 12 years of bondage in Louisiana. His detailed account sheds light on the slave markets of Washington and New Orleans, as well as the brutal realities of cotton and sugar cultivation and the treatment of slaves on major plantations. Northup's narrative not only highlights his personal struggle for freedom but also serves as a crucial historical document on the institution of slavery.