A free Black man represents independence and the freedom of will to live however he wants. However, a freeman isn’t necessary free. For instance, Solomon Northup was a freeman, in paper, residing in New York with his wife and children. This all changed when two white individuals offer Solomon a job in D.C. He life as a freeman became a distant past as he soon finds out the two white men were only planning to lure him out of New York and into D.C, which is slave territory, to sell him off to a buyer in Louisiana. The era of the slave plantation only proves any Black male, or female, free or not, can become a slave. The story of Solomon Northrup tells a tale of his experiences of being a slave, the penalties, and the position of authority during …show more content…
Slave masters can come up with any excuse to penalize others in order to prove a point. Penalties for slaves can demotivate them from rebelling against the masters. Even trying to escape from the masters can come with severe penalties. Additionally, escaping itself is difficult because a sanctuary for slaves, especially in Louisiana, is hundreds of miles always. In addition to, a slave who tries to escape can be tracked down by posse members. In Solomon’s story, an old man named Noah tried to escape many times, only to be caught by others. A penalty for Black males and females in the slave plantation prove to be much harder for them. Being a free Black man, or women, doesn’t mean that he or she has the same rights as an average citizen of the United States. For instance, after Solomon was freed, he tried to have the two men who sent him to D.C be held on court for their crimes. Instead, those two men were free from trial without any consequences because Solomon was black. The judge stated that a black man doesn’t have any rights in the U.S, nor can he be considered free. Solomon’s story has influenced the decision of creating the Civil War Amendments, which abolishes slavery, give them citizenships, and give them equal