Injustice of Slavery

Where it surfaces

• Dedication

  The dedication frames Northup's narrative as a factual counterpart to Stowe's fictional exposé, underscoring the systemic injustice of slavery.

• Epigraph

  The poem frames servitude as 'the worst of ills' and questions the moral legitimacy of a system that allows one man to be an absolute despot over others.

• Twelve Years a Slave

  Solomon's kidnapping and enslavement despite being a free man highlight the systemic injustice of slavery.

• III

  Solomon, a free man, is kidnapped and enslaved despite his protests, showing the legal and moral injustice of the institution.

• Arrival at Norfolk and the Voyage to New Orleans

  Arthur, a free man, is kidnapped and forced into slavery, highlighting the systemic injustice and lawlessness of the institution.

• Chapter XII: The Slave's Daily Life on Bayou Boeuf

  The arbitrary and cruel system of tasking—where slaves are beaten for picking too little yet have their quotas raised if they pick too much—highlights the fundamental injustice and impossibility of ever satisfying the master's demands.

• Chapter XVIII

  Solomon is punished for merely expressing a desire to leave, and Patsey is brutally whipped for a harmless visit, showing the complete lack of justice.

• XIX

  Bass articulates the fundamental injustice of slavery, asserting that no law can make it right and that a reckoning will come.

• Chapter XXII

  Solomon's narrative exposes the systemic injustice of slavery, including the kidnapping of free citizens and the failure of the legal system to provide redress.

• Appendix

  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.

• Legal Proceedings and Affidavits

  The wrongful enslavement of a free man and the bureaucratic effort required to restore his liberty highlight the systemic injustice.