American Classics: Twelve Years a Slave, Uncle Tom's Cabin and Up from Slavery

ISBN-10: 1499382138
ISBN-13: 9781499382136
Series: American Classics
Pages: 672
Language: English
Published: 2014-05-07
Authors: Solomon Northup, Booker T. Washington, Harriet Beecher Stowe

Description

For 12 years, Solomon Northup endured the plight of being a slave, so when he gained his freedom in 1853, he was well-positioned to write an account that poignantly described the barbaric system of slavery in the Deep South. Northup's narrative about being a slave for 12 years was popular upon its release in 1853, which coincided with the release of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and it came to have an important place in the slave literature of the antebellum period, where accounts such as Northup's helped opened the eyes of northerners to the experiences of slavery. Perhaps not surprisingly, as was the case with Frederick Douglass' work, Southerners alleged that Northup didn't actually write the book, or that the entire narrative was made up. However, historians by and large have accepted the narrative's authenticity, and they have even relied on Northup's description of certain sites to try to unearth ruins and relics of the past. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a famous 19th century writer and abolitionist in the Northeast. Stowe's most famous work was the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin which was written in 1852. The book quickly caused such strong debate that many argue it was one of the factors which led to the Civil War that began just 9 years after it was published.Up From Slavery is Booker T. Washington's seminal biography, detailing the life and career of one of the most important black leaders of the early 20th century.