What Is Twelve Years A Slave Summary?

There is a long-standing debate over the causes of the Civil War wherein one popular view is that it was a war waged to end slavery, while the other view, usually more sympathetic to the South, is that the contention was over states ' rights (in the interest of self-determination instead of subservience to the federal government). This is an interesting disagreement, because it implies a disagreement regarding which of the two sides was actually fighting for freedom. Despite the implicit opposition of these viewpoints, I actually cannot understand why this debate even occurs. As is typical of any war, each side thought theirs was the right side, and the war was indeed fought over states ' rights; more specifically, states ' rights to practice …show more content…
The implications this has for a discussion of its historical accuracy are interesting. At first it might seem intuitive at first to assume that the film made closer to the time period in which it is set should be more accurate. This argument becomes moot, of course, because Twelve Years a Slave was based on primary source writing produced during the time period in question, the accuracy of which has been certified by historians. One might disregard that fact in order to analyze the question of what bearing their respective production years would have had on these films, had they not been based on any books, but this would involve a study of historiography in film that would be far beyond the scope of this essay. I believe that the historical accuracy of Twelve Years a Slave should be seen as less suspect even ignoring the source on which its script is based. While any contemporary social theorist or philosopher would assure us that both films would inevitably be biased by the time periods in which they were produced, I believe that historical sources, including primary sources, endorse the portrayal of slavery as a central and violent issue in antebellum American society akin to how it was portrayed by this …show more content…
The war was very much about slavery as an ideology that went far beyond any effort by the South to stop their home territory from having its rights taken from it, as indicated by their fervor to spread slavery to Kansas and Nebraska, which had no history of slavery. Seward 's condemnation of slavery as barbaric indicates that the practice was far more barbaric than shown in Gone with the Wind. The disgusting words of DeBow, in all their condescension towards black slaves, indicate an attitude of disrespect similar to that encapsulated by the portrayal of black slave characters like Mammy. However, DeBow 's also admits how harsh plantation life could be for slaves; he simply failed to see that there was anything wrong with subjecting them to