12 Years A Slave - Word Cloud Classics Author:Solomon Northup When Solomon Northup, born a free black man in Saratoga, New York, was offered a short-term job with a circus in Washington, D.C., in 1841, he jumped at the opportunity. But when he arrived, he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Louisiana. Finally, with the help of a Canadian abolitionist, he was rescued and reunited with his family in New Y... more »ork. In this memoir published in 1853, Northup tells the incredible story of his 12 years as a slave.« less