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Northup 12 years a slave5/12/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() When Northup was born in the early 1800s, white men and black men in New York State could vote as long as they were property owners. His 1853 book, Twelve Years a Slave, was the basis for the Oscar-winning film. Transported to Louisiana, he was enslaved for about a dozen years before he was fortuitously rescued and reunited with his family (who had moved from Saratoga to Glens Falls during his absence). To recap: Northup was a free black living and working in Saratoga Springs, but was tricked into leaving home in 1841 and taken to Washington, D.C., where he was sold into slavery. Thanks to the film 12 Years a Slave, the story of Solomon Northup’s kidnapping is now fairly widely known. This is a matter that probably few local residents know much about today. Ken Perry’s letter about some local aspects of the Solomon Northup story, printed in the Chronicle issue of January 10, got me thinking about what the experiences of Northup and his family, while living in the Glens Falls area, tells us about the lives of African Americans in the 19th century. ![]()
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