This material is available only on Freebooksummary

Solomon Northup – Twelve Years a Slave

Solomon Northup – Twelve Years a Slave
The whole doc is available only for registered users OPEN DOC

Book: Twelve Years a Slave

Pages: 5 Words: 1046 Views: 808
Access Full Document

Please Sign Up
to get full document.

Access Full Document

Please Sign Up
to get full document.

Solomon Northup’s ‘Twelve Years a Slave”, provides readers with a different outlook on slavery. Northup discusses his days as a slave and the different obstacles he went through. Among the three owners he had, all of them had a different way of treating their slaves. Religion is one of the main factors contributing to how Northup is treated. This book portrays how the adoption of religion played a major role in the treatment of the slaves.

During the late 18th century, about the same time as Northup’s expiernces as a slave, many Southerners were greatly influenced by religion. In particular, during the evangelical reform movement, religion became the new model of behavior. Instead of one’s worth being evaluated by their power and wealth, a person’s moral purity determined rank (Text-460).

The main evangelical reform project was the Mission to the Slaves. This mission aimed to better the physical treatment of the slaves. Any who did not abide by this mission were threatened with church or social sanctions (Text-461). There are many instances throughout Twelve Year’s a Slave that incorporate these religious reform movements.

Solomon’s first owner, William Ford, demonstrated how the evangelical reform movement effected the way he treated his slaves. Solomon describes Ford as being a noble Christian man.

He states, “He never doubted the moral right of one man holding another in subjection, he was a model master, walking uprightly, according to the light of his understanding, and fortunate was the slave who came to his possession. Were all men such as he, Slavery would be deprived of more then half it’s bitterness” (Northup-39).

Solomon highly respected Ford. Ford provided the slaves with the same respect he gave to the white community. Ford allowed the slaves to take breaks and rests whenever they were needed and provided them with plenty of food and shelter.

While many slaves were given just bread and water as their daily meal, Ford provided his slaves with meals he would also eat himself. One night Solomon says his dinner consisted of sweet potatoes, corn, bread, and bacon.

Ford was considered a highly respectable minister. He preached the bible and believed all men should be treated with equal respect. All of Ford’s slaves were given Sunday, the Sabbath day, off to study religion. Solomon states, “ We usually spent our Sabbaths at the opening, on which days our master would gather all his slaves about him, and read and expound the scriptures.

He sought to inculcate in our minds feelings of kindness towards each other, of dependence upon God-setting forth the rewards promised unto those who lead upright and prayerful life” (Northup-41). Ford’s religious and loving nature actually influenced Solomon to work harder. Solomon states, “ It is a fact I have more then once observed, that those who treated their slaves most leniently, were rewarded with the most amount of labor”(Northup-42).

The slaves rewarded Ford’s generosity by obeying him. For example, Solomon rewarded Ford with a new less expensive way to transport wood down the river. He worked extremely hard to build a raft on his own free will to please Ford. He states, “I labored hard, being extremely anxious to succeed, both from a desire to please my master…”(Northup-43).

This theory of “you get what you give” was extremely prevalent during the evangelical reform movement. When slaveholders expressed concern that evangelical reforms would cause them to loose control of their slaves, evangelicals stressed that converted slaves would become more obedient (Text-462). In this particular case religion not only effected how Ford treated his slaves, but also how the slaves treated Ford.

Southern women also played a major role in the evangelical movement. They focused on promoting religion and the stability of slave-holding in the south. For example, in Twelve Years a Slave, a slave named Sam who worked at William Ford’s plantation with Solomon, was given a bible by the mistress (Northup, Pg.42).

Many other slave owners who did not participate in the evangelical movement frowned upon this and remarked, anyone who allowed their slaves to own bibles “was not fit to own a nigger”(Northup-39). This shows the contrast between the two different types of slave owners.

Although Solomon was treated kindly at Ford’s plantation, his next two owners’ did not share the same religious beliefs as Ford. Solomon was beaten, underfed, and overworked. Solomon states, “ I was now compelled to labor very hard. From earliest dawn to late at night, I was not allowed to be a moment idle.

Notwithstanding which, Tibeats was never satisfied. He never spoke to me a kind word. I was his faithful slave, and earned him large wages everyday, and yet I went to my cabin nightly, loaded with abuse and stinging epithets” (Northup-46). Tibeats demonstrates how the majority of slaveholders treated slaves before the religion reform movements.

He did not treat his slaves with respect and kindness; therefore he did not receive respect and kindness. Instead of rewarding Tibeats like he did Ford, Solomon used violence. A slave fighting back with their masters was extremely rare and Solomon was punished for his disobedience. If Ford treated Solomon with more respect, he would have received a more positive outcome.

Solomon’s third owner also shared the same immoral characteristics as Tibeats. When Solomon became extremely ill due to being overworked in the overbearing heat, Epps refers to Solomon as an expensive animal that would cost him a lot of money if he were to die.

Epps was not concerned with the well being of Solomon, he was only concerned about how much money he would loose if he had to replace him. These were the type of men who opposed the evangelical reform movements and it was shown through the way they treated their slaves.

Throughout the narrative it is evident religion played a major role on how Northup was treated. William Ford serves as a perfect example of what Christian slaveholders were like during the evangelical reform movements.

Ford’s close relationship with religion made him a very different man than non-religious slaveholders. His clean morals and kindness bettered the lives of many slaves. Solomon would have been treated very differently if Ford was not a religious man.

Russell Ransom
Author: Russell Ransom
This material doesn't solve
your task?
Find the most relevant one