Essay On 12 Years A Slave
“Everyone deserves not just to survive, but to live,” stated 12 Years a Slave Director Steve McQueen during his Oscar acceptance speech for Best Picture. 12 years a Slave recounts the narrative memoir of Solomon Northup “as a free black man from the North who was kidnapped and sold into Slavery in the pre-Civil War South.” The Institution of Slavery revolutionized the political, economic, and social power of the United States. While America benefited from slave labor, those who aided in the development received no great satisfaction. Society viewed slaves as property without fundamental rights because of their skin color. Until the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, individuals like Solomon Northup would continue to be tormented
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Many of these victims were kidnapped, renamed, and sold right here in North America. Taking into consideration the location and era of 12 Years a Slave, Solomon Northup was a free-born man because of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 that “prohibited slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase territory above the north latitude.” Despite obtaining the right to freedom, Solomon was considered “nothing but a Georgia runaway.” At an early point in the movie, Solomon is transported by a dank, rat-infested steamboat to a New Orleans slave auction. The unsanitary conditions are similar to ones found during the transit of slaves from Africa to the Americas. Most captains did not provide any kinds of hygiene. The slaves' holding quarters were so hot and humid that the floor of their rooms was covered with layers of filth during most of the voyage. When Solomon arrives to New Orleans, he is renamed with an English name known as Platt Hamilton. The renaming of slaves was conventional in an attempt to erase any connection of their past. Once completed, Platt is made available for prospective buyers to evaluate and determine an appropriate bid. Slave inspections were nothing out of the ordinary. During the Middle Passage, “those found to be fit were marked on the breast for either the French, English, or Dutch companies to distinguish.” If one was
Many of these victims were kidnapped, renamed, and sold right here in North America. Taking into consideration the location and era of 12 Years a Slave, Solomon Northup was a free-born man because of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 that “prohibited slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase territory above the north latitude.” Despite obtaining the right to freedom, Solomon was considered “nothing but a Georgia runaway.” At an early point in the movie, Solomon is transported by a dank, rat-infested steamboat to a New Orleans slave auction. The unsanitary conditions are similar to ones found during the transit of slaves from Africa to the Americas. Most captains did not provide any kinds of hygiene. The slaves' holding quarters were so hot and humid that the floor of their rooms was covered with layers of filth during most of the voyage. When Solomon arrives to New Orleans, he is renamed with an English name known as Platt Hamilton. The renaming of slaves was conventional in an attempt to erase any connection of their past. Once completed, Platt is made available for prospective buyers to evaluate and determine an appropriate bid. Slave inspections were nothing out of the ordinary. During the Middle Passage, “those found to be fit were marked on the breast for either the French, English, or Dutch companies to distinguish.” If one was