Solomon Northup Quotes

• My back is thick with scars for protesting my freedom.

  Solomon Northup

  Scar, Thick

  19 Copy quote

• It is not the fault of the slaveholder that he is cruel, so much as it is the fault of the system under which he lives. He cannot withstand the influence of habit and associations that surround him. Taught from earliest childhood, by all that he sees and hears that the rod is for the slave's back, he will not be apt to change his opinions in maturer years.

  Solomon Northup

  Years, Childhood, Association

  Solomon Northup (2008). “Twelve Years a Slave”, p.206, Applewood Books

  22 Copy quote

• My sufferings I can compare to nothing else than the burning agonies of hell!

  Solomon Northup

  Agony, Suffering, Burning

  Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Solomon Northup, Olaudah Equiano (2016). “Slave Narratives Compilation: Twelve Years A Slave, My Bondage and My Freedom, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave”, p.344, ShandonPress

  57 Copy quote

• What difference is there in the color of the soul?

  Solomon Northup

  Color, Differences, Soul

  Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Solomon Northup, Olaudah Equiano (2016). “Slave Narratives Compilation: Twelve Years A Slave, My Bondage and My Freedom, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave”, p.460, ShandonPress

  8 Copy quote

• Is everything right because the law allows it?

  Solomon Northup

  Law

  Solomon Northup, David Wilson (1854). “Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and Rescued in 1853, from a Cotton Plantation Near the Red River, in Louisiana”, p.266

  12 Copy quote

• Life is dear to every living thing; the worm that crawls upon the ground will struggle for it.

  Solomon Northup

  Struggle, Life Is, Worms

  Solomon Northup, Harriet Beecher Stowe (2014). “Twelve Years A Slave: illustrated Original Edition With Bonus of Uncle Tom's Cabin”, p.71, Ageless Reads

  14 Copy quote

• I could not comprehend the justice of that law, or that religion, which upholds or recognizes the principle of slavery.

  Solomon Northup

  Law, Justice, Principles

  Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Solomon Northup, Olaudah Equiano (2016). “Slave Narratives Compilation: Twelve Years A Slave, My Bondage and My Freedom, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave”, p.334, ShandonPress

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• Really, it was difficult to determine which I had most reason to fear—dogs, alligators or men!

  Solomon Northup

  Dog, Men, Reason

  Solomon Northup, Harriet Beecher Stowe (2014). “Twelve Years A Slave: illustrated Original Edition With Bonus of Uncle Tom's Cabin”, p.74, Ageless Reads

  19 Copy quote

• There have been hours in my unhappy life, many of them, when the contemplation of death as the end of earthly sorrow - of the grave as a resting place for the tired and worn out body - has been pleasant to dwell upon.

  Solomon Northup

  Tired, Happy Life, Sorrow

  Solomon Northup (2016). “Twelve Years a Slave”, p.76, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

  12 Copy quote

• Suffice it to say, during the whole long day I came not to the conclusion, even once, that the southern slave, fed, clothed, whipped and protected by his master, is happier than the free colored citizen of the North. To that conclusion I have never since arrived.

  Solomon Northup

  Long, Southern, Citizens

  Solomon Northup, David Wilson (1855). “Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New-York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and Rescued in 1853, from a Cotton Plantation Near the Red River, in Louisiana”, p.121

  7 Copy quote

• They are deceived who flatter themselves that the ignorant and debased slave has no conception of the magnitude of his wrongs. They are deceived who imagine that he arises from his knees with back lacerated and bleeding, cherishing only a spirit of meekness and forgiveness. A day may come - it will, if his prayer is heard. A terrible day of vengeance when the master in his turn will cry in vain for mercy.

  Solomon Northup

  Fear, Prayer, Ignorant

  Solomon Northup (2016). “Twelve Years a Slave”, p.135, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

  10 Copy quote

• I can speak of slavery only so far as it came under my own observation - only so far as I have known and experienced it in my own person.

  Solomon Northup

  Slavery, Speak, Observation

  Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Solomon Northup, Olaudah Equiano (2016). “Slave Narratives Compilation: Twelve Years A Slave, My Bondage and My Freedom, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave”, p.330, ShandonPress

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• There are few sights more pleasant to the eye, than a wide cotton field when it is in the bloom. It presents an appearance of purity, like an immaculate expanse of light, new-fallen snow.

  Solomon Northup

  Eye, Sight, Light

  Solomon Northup, Harriet Beecher Stowe (2014). “Twelve Years A Slave: illustrated Original Edition With Bonus of Uncle Tom's Cabin”, p.87, Ageless Reads

  5 Copy quote

• At such times, the heart of man turns instictively towards his Maker. In prosperity, and whenever there is nothing to injure or make him afraid, he remembers Him not, and is ready to defy Him; but place him in the midst of dangers, cut him off from human aid, let the grave open before him, then it is, in the time of his tribulation, that the scoffer and unbelieving man turns to God for help, feeling there is no other hope, or refuge, or safety, save in his protecting arm.

  Solomon Northup

  Heart, Cutting, Men

  8 Copy quote

• Credit leads a man into temptation. Cash down is the only thing that will deliver him from evil.

  Solomon Northup

  Men, Evil, Temptation

  Solomon Northup (2016). “Twelve Years a Slave”, p.144, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

  16 Copy quote

• It has been suggested that an account of my life and fortunes would not be uninteresting to the public.

  Solomon Northup

  Fortune, Accounts, Has Beens

  Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Solomon Northup, Olaudah Equiano (2016). “Slave Narratives Compilation: Twelve Years A Slave, My Bondage and My Freedom, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave”, p.330, ShandonPress

  4 Copy quote

• Unsoundness in a slave, as well as in a horse, detracts materially from his value. If no warranty is given, a close examination is a matter of particular importance to the Negro jockey.

  Solomon Northup

  Horse, Jockeys, Examination

  Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Solomon Northup, Olaudah Equiano (2016). “Slave Narratives Compilation: Twelve Years A Slave, My Bondage and My Freedom, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave”, p.351, ShandonPress

  4 Copy quote

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