Why did Ford have to send Northup away to Epps for protection from Tibeats and his cohorts? Didn't the prevailing laws protect Northup as property of Ford? Or was it just a matter of location...i.e., sending Northup to a more distant planation (apparently) out of harm's way? Northrup of course disclosed his past to Ford but this did not appear to be the motivation for the transfer.
shareNorthup would have had an "accident" or been ambushed when nobody was around to witness it.
Even if not, Tibeats would just make his life hell, like with the shed Northup was building, and having one special slave who wasn't under the control of Tibeats would eventually make the other slaves hate him.
Ford was not finished paying Northup off. He knew eventually he would be killed and it would be a financial lost to him. Even when Northup was trying to tell Ford he was wrongfully enslaved, he refused to hear it because of the money he'd be out of. You have to remember even though Ford seems nice he still views this human being as property.
shareFord's decendants complained that Ford was portrayed in the film as a "weak willed pious hypocrite unable to protect Solomon or slaves from sadistic Epps"
Remember he called himself religious. But could a Christian send slaves to sicko Epps?
I don't know why his decedents are bitching these were different times, if their ancestors were so great they wouldn't be slave owners they'd be abolitionist.
shareWhat you wrote reminded me that the decendents of Samuel Bass the abolishionist are proud of him and went to see the film.
The desendants of Solomon Northup saw the film and were proud of him also.