Solomon Northup: Similarities Between The Slaves And Solomon Northup

Similarities Between the Slaves Frederick Douglass and Solomon Northup Slavery undoubtedly had a major role in the history of the United States of America. The slaves in the U.S were innocent people that were kidnapped and taken away from their families and homes in Africa. African people were forced to come in an unknown land and were required to do labor against their wills. They were beaten, sold, looked down upon as if they were not human, just because of the complexion of their skins. There were numerous people of African descent that were actually considered free in the U.S. They were still kidnapped and put to slavery. One of those people was Solomon Northup. However, even with slavery many African people accomplished great things …show more content…
They would beat them mercilessly for the smallest things. Slaves had to take the punishment and were punished even more if they resisted so many slaves rarely attempted to do so. However, Solomon Northup and Frederick Douglass had enough courage to retaliate against their masters. Solomon Northup was going to be beaten for something that was not his fault. However, instead of getting beaten by his master, Northup beat his master. “He was completely in my power. My blood was up. It seemed to course through my veins like fire” (Northup 71). Northup knew that fighting against his master was dangerous even though he did it. After that event, he no longer feared his master and felt proud of himself. Frederick Douglass also fought back against his master and after that Douglass felt a sense of freedom.“This battle with Mr. Covey was the turning- point in my career as a slave. It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within a sense of my own manhood” (Douglass 71) After beating his master he lost his fear towards his master and felt that standing up for himself gave him a feeling of freedom. Overall, Northup and Douglass fought back against their masters while being aware of what the consequences may be which is a great example of resistance to …show more content…
Being a literate slave is one of the greatest things a slave can be, but the ones who supported slavery were against slaves being literate. Slaves were not allowed to have the opportunity to read and write and were punished if they were caught doing so because slave masters did not want their slaves to be educated. If slaves were educated they would question the master 's orders and eventually disobey. Solomon Northup already literate since he was a free man before, but he needed to write letters to his friends secretly because he knew if anyone found out that he could write then he would be punished severely. With the help from a kind white man, Northup received the materials and opportunity required to write the letters. “He was nodding over a table, half asleep, on which sickly light was flickering, and on which also was a pen and sheet of paper. As I entered he aroused, beckoned me to a seat beside him, and pointed to the paper.” (Northup 43). Northup met a man who took sympathy on him and bought him supplies and gave him a room in order for Northup to write letters. On the other hand, Frederick Douglass was not literate and he had to learn while he was a slave, which was risky. He learned how to write by copying his master 's copy-books when he was alone. “I continued to do this until I could write a hand very similar to that of Master Thomas. Thus, after a