1. Solomon Northop Author of Twelve Years a Slave

2. Solomon’s Childhood Solomon’s father, Mintus Northop, was an African American slave who spent the early part of his life in service to the Northop family. When Mr. Northop died, he set Mintus free. Mintus owned property, was able to vote, and provided his sons with a good education. Solomon and his brother, Joseph, were born and lived as free men.

3. Solomon’s Adult Life and Family Solomon married Anne Hampton. They had three children, and lived in freedom on a family farm and later in Saratoga Springs, New York. Solomon worked various jobs. He was also a talented violin player and often traveled to Canada to play.

4. A Business Proposal… One day, he met two men, who introduced themselves as Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton. Saying they were entertainers, they offered him a job as a fiddler for some of their performances in New York City. Expecting the trip to be brief, Northrup had not written to his wife of his travel. When they reached New York, the men persuaded him to go with them to the circus in Washington, DC, offering him a generous wage and the cost of his return trip home.

5. Kidnapped! When they arrived in April of 1841, Northup began to feel ill and they returned to the hotel. At some point, some men helped him from the room, saying they were taking him to a doctor. When he regained full consciousness, he realized he had been kidnapped and drugged. Robbed of his money and freedom papers, Northup learned he was locked in the basement of the Yellow House, one of several slave markets located in the area of the present-day National Mall, within sight of the US Capitol.

6. Life in Slavery Northrup was severely beaten and threatened with death by James H. Burch and Theophilus Freeman, slave traders, to stop him from saying he was a free man. They wrongfully claimed that Northrup was a runaway slave from Georgia, and sold him as such. At age 32, Northup suffered severely from the drastic changes in his life - suddenly being subjected to the slave conditions of violent punishment, meager diet, a dirt-floored slave cabin, and emotional pain.

7. Life in Slavery Solomon was shipped to New Orleans, where he and many other slaves caught small pox. He recovered, but was sold to William Ford and later to two other slave owners. He spent twelve brutal years in slavery.

8. Freedom While held by Epps, in 1852 Northup secretly befriended Samuel Bass, an Canadian carpenter working for Epps. Bass wrote to Northup's family with details of his location. He likely would have been killed had the secret become known.

9. Freedom In cooperation with the senator and local authorities of Louisiana, they located Solomon and on January 4, 1853. He was finally free again. He later wrote his story in Twelve Years a Slave.

10. Type I Quick Write Take two minutes to jot down three similarities that you can find between Solomon Northop’s real-life story and the fictional account of Huck and Jim’s journey in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Be prepared to discuss.

11. Type II Quick Write In Solomon Northup’s “A Slave Auction Described by a Slave,” we see the African Americans treated more like animals than humans and see how the slave auctioneers and buyers disregard their humanity. In one well-developed paragraph, respond to the following questions, using at least one quotation from Huckleberry Finn for support: What makes Tom’s plan to “free” Jim so disturbing? How does he disregard Jim’s humanity? What do you think is Twain’s purpose for including this?