# Appendix explained — Twelve Years a Slave

> Chapter companion for Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup.

## What happens

The Appendix provides legal documentation and affidavits verifying Solomon Northup's identity and the circumstances of his kidnapping and enslavement, serving as corroborative evidence for his narrative.

## Themes in this chapter

### Injustice of Slavery

The legal documents highlight the systemic injustice of slavery, as a free man was kidnapped and sold into bondage, and the legal system was used both to perpetuate and to challenge this wrong.

### Hypocrisy of American Freedom

The affidavits underscore the hypocrisy of a nation that proclaimed freedom while allowing the enslavement of a free citizen, revealing the fragility of liberty for African Americans.

## Character check-ins

### Solomon Northup

Subject of the legal affidavits and testimony confirming his free status and kidnapping.

### Henry B. Northup

Affiant and key figure in the legal proceedings to rescue Solomon and bring charges against Burch.

### James H. Burch

Defendant in the legal proceedings, accused of kidnapping and selling Solomon.

## Key lines

> State of New York, City and County of New York, ss. : Henry B. Northup, of the city of Sandy Hill, in the county of Washington, in said state, being duly sworn, doth depose and say, that he is a counsellor at law, and that he has known Solomon Northup for more than twenty years.

Henry B. Northup, a lawyer from Sandy Hill, New York, swears under oath that he has known Solomon Northup for over twenty years.

_This affidavit establishes the long-standing acquaintance between Henry B. Northup and Solomon, providing credibility to Solomon's identity._

> And this deponent further saith, that he has no doubt that the said Solomon Northup is a citizen of the United States, and a free man; and that the said Solomon Northup is the same person who, together with this deponent, was born and reared in the county of Washington, aforesaid.

Henry B. Northup affirms that Solomon Northup is a free U.S. citizen and the same person he grew up with in Washington County, New York.

_This statement confirms Solomon's free status and his origins, countering any claims that he was a runaway slave._

> And this deponent further saith, that the said Solomon Northup, in the month of March, 1841, left his family and home in the county of Washington, aforesaid, and went to the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, with two white men, who proposed to employ him as a musician; that he has never returned to his family, and that this deponent has been credibly informed and believes that the said Solomon Northup was kidnapped in the city of Washington, and was taken from thence to the city of New Orleans, and there sold as a slave, and that he has been held as a slave in the State of Louisiana ever since that time.

Henry B. Northup states that Solomon left his family in March 1841 to work as a musician in Washington, D.C., with two white men, and never returned; he believes Solomon was kidnapped, taken to New Orleans, sold into slavery, and held in Louisiana ever since.

_This affidavit outlines the key events of Solomon's kidnapping and subsequent enslavement, forming the basis for legal action._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters/appendix
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters