• In at least 350-400 words, compose a post that discusses several of the following topics that are highlighted in the
assigned chapters:
o Slave narratives, like Northup’s book, became a common genre in the U.S. during the 1830s-1850s, and were
most commonly published by northern abolitionist groups. What did you personally find to be the most
compelling aspect(s) of Northup’s account? What part(s) of his story changed or impacted how you view or think
of antebellum slavery the most? Why?
o Solomon Northup was a keen observer of human nature. One of the main themes of his book is the way in which
slavery was institutionalized throughout the entire southern society. What laws, organizations, social customs, or
groups does Northup mention helped maintain racial slavery in Louisiana?
o It wasn’t only slave-owners who fueled racialized slavery. Non-slaveholders and poor whites also had a vested
interest in continuing slavery, even when it did not directly benefit them through free labor. In what ways were all
white members of Southern society complicit in the system of slavery, whether they owned slaves or not? What
evidence from the assigned chapters can you cite to support your conclusion?
o Northup not only discusses the brutalities of white slaveholders against enslaved blacks, but also their brutality
against other whites, even among young children. According to Northup, how did slavery effect the entire
southern society, whites as well as African Americans?
Sample Solution
