Born a free man in New York, Solomon Northup was abducted in Washington, D.C., in 1841 and spent the next twelve years in captivity as a slave on a Louisiana cotton plantation. After his rescue, he published this detailed account of slave life. It became an immediate bestseller and today is recognized for its unusual insight and eloquence.

Historian Edward Baptist reveals how the expansion of slavery in the first eight decades after American independence drove the evolution and modernization of the United States.

The powerful story of a slave who became one of the most effective African-American leaders

In 1820, a suspicious vessel was spotted lingering off the coast of northern Florida, the Spanish slave ship Antelope. Since the United States had outlawed its own participation in the international slave trade more than a decade before, the ship's almost 300 African captives were considered illegal cargo under the law. But with slavery still a critical part of the American economy, it would eventually fall to the Supreme Court to determine whether...

Portrays how the 19th century struggle against slavery erupted in Washington DC, thrusting the ambitious District Attorney Francis Scott Key into a uniquely American battle for justice.