Twelve Years a Slave

Twelve Years a Slave

• Genre: Nonfiction; memoir
• Originally Published: 1853
• Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
• Structure/Length: Introduction, 22 chapters; approx. 363 pages; approx. 7 hours, 51 minutes on audio
• Central Concern: Solomon Northup, a free Black man born in 1807, is kidnapped from the North and sold into slavery in New Orleans. For 12 years, he lives as an enslaved person until he finds someone willing to risk their life to deliver a letter to the North. Northup’s story captures the reality of slavery and plantation society in detail rarely seen in narratives regarding enslaved people.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Slavery; racism; human trafficking; racial slurs; extreme brutality; sexual violence; violence

Solomon Northup, Author

• Bio: 1807-1864; American abolitionist; born a free man in New York; farmer and professional violinist; was kidnapped in Washington, DC, while working as a traveling musician; spent 12 years enslaved in Louisiana before having a letter smuggled North, allowing the governor of New York to aid in his release; was unable to testify at the trial of James H. Birch, his enslaver, in Washington, DC, because of his race; was able to testify against him when New York opened a case against him; lectured on slavery in the years leading to the Civil War; some accounts suggest he aided in the Underground Railroad effort
• Awards: Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (Film version, 2014) 

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Social Construction of Slavery
• Systems of Power, Control, and Punishment
• The Subjugation of Women and Families

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Gain an understanding of the historical and social contexts regarding America’s antebellum history, the legacy of slavery, and the relationship between power and systemic racism, all which shape Northrup’s experiences in Twelve Years a Slave. 
• Study paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text's themes of The Social Construction of Slavery, Systems of Power, Control, and Punishment, and The Subjugation of Women and Families.
• Research, analyze, and discuss the visual representations of slavery including artwork in Twelve Years a Slave while learning more about art history in the process.
• Examine and appraise how the book exposes the barbaric realities of slavery and draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding how Northup helped upend misconceptions around The Social Construction of Slavery and other topics.